# MRI, lower back spine, with and without contrast in GA

Billing code `72158`. Prices for this code at 109 hospitals in GA, taken from the machine-readable standard charge files each hospital is required to publish under the CMS Hospital Price Transparency Rule (45 CFR 180.50).

Source page: https://clearcharge.org/price/ga/mri-lower-back-spine-with-and-without-contrast

HC MRI, LUMBAR SPINE COMBO - MRI LUMBAR SPINE W WO CONTRAST

## Before quoting any figure below

- **Hospital charges only.** The surgeon, anaesthetist, radiologist and pathologist bill separately and appear in no hospital price file, by construction. Every figure below is part of a total, never the total.
- **A negotiated rate is not a bill.** It is what a hospital and an insurer agreed. What a patient owes depends on their deductible, coinsurance and out-of-pocket maximum.
- **Each hospital's figure is a median across its own plans.** The spread inside one hospital is often wider than the gap between two of them.
- **"not mentioned" is not $0.** It means this hospital's file does not label a row that way. Silence is not a statement that the charge does not exist.
- **A hospital absent from the table says nothing about its prices.** It may publish this code under a revenue or drug code this site cannot map to a procedure.

A procedure code is billed twice -- once by the hospital for its own costs, once by the doctor for their work -- and hospitals publish different sides of that split under the same code. Of the hospitals here, 46 publish a facility charge; 7 publish both, mixed together; 56 do not label which half the figure is.

## Typical price

|  | Amount |
|---|---|
| Cheapest tenth | $354 |
| Typical | $906 |
| Dearest tenth | $2,255 |

The cheapest and dearest tenth are the hospitals a tenth of the way in from each end, not the single cheapest and dearest. Every hospital, including both extremes, is in the table below.

That is a 6-fold difference for the same billing code -- a gap between hospitals, not between treatments.

## Every hospital publishing this code

| Hospital | Where | CMS rating | Typical | Facility charge | Physician fee | Self-pay | Lowest | Highest | Plans on file |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memorial Health University Medical Center | SAVANNAH | 1/5 | $215 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $7,734 | $57 | $6,961 | 187 |
| Liberty Regional Medical Center | HINESVILLE | not rated | $222 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $996 | $214 | $996 | 6 |
| Grady Memorial Hospital | ATLANTA | 2/5 | see split | $1,786 | $189 | $7,167 | $105 | $5,734 | 120 |
| Jefferson Hospital | LOUISVILLE | not rated | $241 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $213 | $156 | $331 | 20 |
| Hamilton Medical Center | DALTON | 3/5 | $298 | $298 | not mentioned | $6,878 | $278 | $318 | 2 |
| Optim Medical Center - Screven | SYLVANIA | not rated | $312 | $312 | not mentioned | $2,797 | $306 | $859 | 7 |
| St Francis Hospital- Emory Healthcare | COLUMBUS | 3/5 | $318 | $318 | not mentioned | not published | $142 | $869 | 11 |
| Northeast Georgia Medical Center Habersham | DEMOREST | 3/5 | $321 | $321 | not mentioned | $1,647 | $306 | $2,687 | 7 |
| Emory Houston Hospital Warner Robins | WARNER ROBINS | 2/5 | $328 | $328 | not mentioned | $2,122 | $313 | $955 | 9 |
| SGMC Health | VALDOSTA | 2/5 | $335 | $335 | not mentioned | $4,722 | $242 | $395 | 4 |
| Navicent Health Baldwin | MILLEDGEVILLE | 2/5 | see split | $2,356 | $275 | $1,550 | $103 | $3,284 | 85 |
| Atrium Health Navicent the Medical Center | MACON | 2/5 | see split | $2,955 | $281 | $2,898 | $103 | $5,389 | 91 |
| Northeast Georgia Medical Center | GAINESVILLE | 3/5 | $357 | $357 | not mentioned | $1,647 | $343 | $788 | 6 |
| Southern Regional Medical Center | RIVERDALE | 1/5 | $359 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $348 | $331 | $3,493 | 41 |
| Tanner Medical Center - Carrollton | CARROLLTON | 2/5 | $359 | $359 | not mentioned | $2,453 | $348 | $383 | 10 |
| NGMC Barrow | WINDER | 4/5 | $364 | $364 | not mentioned | $1,647 | $350 | $788 | 6 |
| SGMC Berrien Campus | NASHVILLE | not rated | $365 | $365 | not mentioned | $4,722 | $304 | $456 | 3 |
| Memorial Satilla Health | WAYCROSS | 3/5 | $370 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $9,179 | $163 | $8,261 | 156 |
| Northeast Georgia Medical Center Lumpkin | DAHLONEGA | 5/5 | $376 | $376 | not mentioned | $1,647 | $362 | $788 | 6 |
| Phoebe Sumter Medical Center | AMERICUS | 3/5 | $382 | $382 | not mentioned | not published | $306 | $660 | 8 |
| Emory Hillandale Hospital | LITHONIA | 1/5 | $392 | $392 | not mentioned | $3,812 | $350 | $955 | 12 |
| AdventHealth Murray | CHATSWORTH | 5/5 | $411 | $411 | not mentioned | $7,523 | $325 | $1,531 | 6 |
| Saint Joseph's Hospital of Atlanta | ATLANTA | 3/5 | $414 | $414 | not mentioned | $3,812 | $354 | $965 | 13 |
| Emory University Hospital | ATLANTA | 4/5 | $414 | $414 | not mentioned | $3,812 | $350 | $965 | 13 |
| Emory Decatur Hospital | DECATUR | 2/5 | $414 | $414 | not mentioned | $3,812 | $350 | $965 | 13 |
| Emory University Hospital Midtown | ATLANTA | 2/5 | $414 | $414 | not mentioned | $3,812 | $354 | $965 | 13 |
| Emory Johns Creek Hospital | JOHNS CREEK | 4/5 | $414 | $414 | not mentioned | $3,812 | $354 | $965 | 13 |
| Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital | ALBANY | 2/5 | $420 | $420 | not mentioned | not published | $336 | $660 | 8 |
| Fairview Park Hospital | DUBLIN | 4/5 | $421 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $13,388 | $143 | $12,049 | 191 |
| Memorial Health Meadows Hospital | VIDALIA | 5/5 | $421 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $8,232 | $370 | $7,409 | 56 |
| St Joseph's Hospital - Savannah | SAVANNAH | 2/5 | $427 | $427 | not mentioned | $1,320 | $306 | $5,295 | 9 |
| Candler Hospital | SAVANNAH | 2/5 | $427 | $427 | not mentioned | $1,320 | $306 | $5,295 | 9 |
| AdventHealth Gordon | CALHOUN | 3/5 | $448 | $448 | not mentioned | $7,523 | $347 | $2,616 | 8 |
| Doctors Hospital | AUGUSTA | 3/5 | $479 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $13,274 | $154 | $11,947 | 187 |
| Crisp Regional Hospital | CORDELE | 2/5 | $512 | $512 | not mentioned | $2,889 | $424 | $554 | 3 |
| AdventHealth Redmond | ROME | 4/5 | $544 | $544 | not mentioned | $5,554 | $363 | $1,008 | 7 |
| WellStar MCG Health, Affiliated with Med Col | AUGUSTA | 1/5 | $550 | $550 | not mentioned | $2,370 | $306 | $1,790 | 20 |
| Washington County Regional Medical Center | SANDERSVILLE | not rated | $600 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $2,238 | $306 | $3,715 | 50 |
| WellStar Spalding Medical Center | GRIFFIN | 2/5 | $605 | $605 | not mentioned | $2,370 | $350 | $1,334 | 13 |
| WellStar West Georgia Medical Center | LAGRANGE | 5/5 | $605 | $605 | not mentioned | $2,370 | $343 | $1,336 | 13 |
| WellStar Douglas Medical Center | DOUGLASVILLE | 3/5 | $612 | $612 | not mentioned | $2,370 | $351 | $1,334 | 12 |
| WellStar North Fulton Medical Center | ROSWELL | 2/5 | $615 | $615 | not mentioned | $2,370 | $354 | $1,350 | 12 |
| WellStar Paulding Medical Center | HIRAM | 4/5 | $615 | $615 | not mentioned | $2,370 | $354 | $1,330 | 12 |
| WellStar Kennestone Regional Medical Center | MARIETTA | 4/5 | $615 | $615 | not mentioned | $2,370 | $354 | $1,330 | 12 |
| WellStar Cobb Medical Center | AUSTELL | 3/5 | $615 | $615 | not mentioned | $2,370 | $354 | $1,382 | 12 |
| Atrium Health Navicent Peach | BYRON | 1/5 | see split | $1,953 | $275 | $1,502 | $118 | $2,794 | 86 |
| Phoebe Worth Medical Center | SYLVESTER | not rated | $660 | $660 | not mentioned | not published | $660 | $660 | 1 |
| Taylor Regional Hospital | HAWKINSVILLE | not rated | $678 | $678 | not mentioned | $3,642 | $678 | $1,368 | 4 |
| Stephens County Hospital | TOCCOA | 2/5 | $698 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $1,283 | $348 | $1,924 | 10 |
| Southwell Medical, a Campus of TRMC | ADEL | not rated | see split | $887 | $460 | $2,432 | $243 | $4,865 | 92 |
| Effingham Health System | SPRINGFIELD | not rated | $830 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $1,916 | $789 | $2,801 | 14 |
| Optim Medical Center - Tattnall | REIDSVILLE | not rated | $859 | $859 | not mentioned | $2,797 | $700 | $867 | 3 |
| East Georgia Regional Medical Center | STATESBORO | 3/5 | $900 | $900 | not mentioned | $4,118 | $316 | $10,001 | 98 |
| Coffee Regional Medical Center | DOUGLAS | 3/5 | see split | $1,008 | $308 | $3,451 | $289 | $4,821 | 76 |
| Morgan Medical Center | MADISON | not rated | $906 | not mentioned | not mentioned | not published | $750 | $1,274 | 9 |
| Piedmont Columbus Regional Northside | COLUMBUS | 5/5 | $936 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $1,630 | $552 | $4,618 | 16 |
| Bacon County Hospital | ALMA | not rated | $952 | $952 | not mentioned | $3,538 | $8 | $980 | 9 |
| Piedmont Columbus Regional Midtown | COLUMBUS | 2/5 | $955 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $1,630 | $552 | $4,618 | 17 |
| St Marys Good Samaritan Hospital | GREENSBORO | 4/5 | $966 | $966 | not mentioned | $2,218 | $564 | $3,071 | 32 |
| Evans Memorial Hospital | CLAXTON | not rated | $969 | not mentioned | not mentioned | not published | $304 | $5,223 | 11 |
| Mountain Lakes Medical Center | CLAYTON | not rated | $1,032 | $1,032 | not mentioned | $589 | $1,032 | $1,032 | 1 |
| St Mary's Hospital | ATHENS | 1/5 | $1,037 | $1,037 | not mentioned | $3,489 | $336 | $4,831 | 107 |
| WellStar Sylvan Grove Medical Center | JACKSON | not rated | $1,049 | $1,049 | not mentioned | $2,370 | $605 | $1,375 | 5 |
| Blue Ridge Medical Center | BLUE RIDGE | not rated | $1,071 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $3,212 | $355 | $5,354 | 812 |
| Jeff Davis Hospital | HAZLEHURST | not rated | $1,087 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $1,109 | $536 | $2,439 | 38 |
| Tift Regional Medical Center | TIFTON | 3/5 | see split | $1,121 | $460 | $2,432 | $248 | $4,865 | 46 |
| Chi Memorial Hospital- Georgia | RINGGOLD | 3/5 | $1,103 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $2,177 | $319 | $5,958 | 31 |
| Elbert Memorial Hospital | ELBERTON | not rated | $1,126 | $1,126 | not mentioned | $1,053 | $240 | $1,185 | 6 |
| Candler County Hospital | METTER | not rated | $1,151 | not mentioned | not mentioned | not published | $461 | $3,034 | 13 |
| Union General Hospital | BLAIRSVILLE | 3/5 | $1,173 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $1,389 | $327 | $2,362 | 18 |
| Chatuge Regional Hospital | HIAWASSEE | not rated | $1,225 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $1,158 | $509 | $1,968 | 18 |
| Piedmont Mountainside Hospital | JASPER | 4/5 | $1,248 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $2,114 | $683 | $5,990 | 15 |
| Piedmont Walton Hospital | MONROE | 4/5 | $1,248 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $2,114 | $632 | $6,342 | 15 |
| Dodge County Hospital | EASTMAN | not rated | $1,364 | not mentioned | not mentioned | not published | $304 | $3,039 | 11 |
| Monroe County Hospital | FORSYTH | not rated | $1,385 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $534 | $401 | $2,668 | 25 |
| Putnam General Hospital | EATONTON | not rated | $1,396 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $1,454 | $288 | $2,471 | 13 |
| Appling Healthcare | BAXLEY | not rated | $1,507 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $2,498 | $326 | $2,900 | 10 |
| Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center | ROME | 2/5 | $1,514 | $1,514 | not mentioned | $4,456 | $348 | $7,574 | 38 |
| Atrium Health Floyd Polk Medical Center | CEDARTOWN | not rated | $1,527 | $1,527 | not mentioned | $3,393 | $782 | $6,107 | 36 |
| Northside Hospital Forsyth | CUMMING | 4/5 | $1,581 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $5,790 | $209 | $7,720 | 133 |
| Northside Hospital Cherokee | CANTON | 4/5 | $1,581 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $5,790 | $209 | $7,720 | 135 |
| Northside Hospital | ATLANTA | 3/5 | $1,597 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $5,790 | $209 | $7,720 | 134 |
| Northside Hospital Gwinnett | LAWRENCEVILLE | 3/5 | $1,668 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $5,790 | $209 | $7,720 | 140 |
| Northside Hospital Duluth | DULUTH | 4/5 | $1,668 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $5,790 | $209 | $7,720 | 140 |
| Ty Cobb Regional Medical Center | LAVONIA | 3/5 | $1,680 | $1,680 | not mentioned | $2,196 | $300 | $2,872 | 104 |
| Memorial Hospital and Manor | BAINBRIDGE | 1/5 | $1,727 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $1,873 | $299 | $2,542 | 24 |
| Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center | ATHENS | 4/5 | $1,751 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $2,114 | $683 | $5,778 | 16 |
| Piedmont Newnan Hospital | NEWNAN | 4/5 | $1,754 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $2,114 | $664 | $6,553 | 16 |
| Piedmont Hospital | ATLANTA | 4/5 | $1,754 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $2,114 | $683 | $5,990 | 16 |
| Piedmont Henry Hospital | STOCKBRIDGE | 2/5 | $1,754 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $2,114 | $598 | $5,990 | 16 |
| Piedmont Fayette Hospital | FAYETTEVILLE | 3/5 | $1,754 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $2,114 | $649 | $5,990 | 16 |
| Piedmont Rockdale Hospital | CONYERS | 3/5 | $1,836 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $2,114 | $532 | $5,285 | 16 |
| Piedmont Cartersville Medical Center | CARTERSVILLE | 3/5 | $1,844 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $2,858 | $683 | $8,573 | 16 |
| Southeast Georgia Health System -- Camden Campus | SAINT MARYS | 4/5 | $1,947 | not mentioned | not mentioned | not published | $105 | $2,825 | 32 |
| Southeast Georgia Health System- Brunswick Campus | BRUNSWICK | 2/5 | $1,947 | not mentioned | not mentioned | not published | $105 | $2,825 | 32 |
| Piedmont Augusta Hospital | AUGUSTA | 2/5 | $2,010 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $1,630 | $542 | $4,890 | 21 |
| University Mcduffie County Regional Medical Center | THOMSON | not rated | $2,087 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $1,630 | $516 | $4,890 | 16 |
| Piedmont Newton Hospital | COVINGTON | 3/5 | $2,254 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $2,114 | $683 | $5,990 | 15 |
| Coliseum Medical Centers | MACON | 3/5 | $2,260 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $2,114 | $482 | $6,342 | 14 |
| Piedmont Macon North Hospital | MACON | 4/5 | $2,260 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $2,114 | $648 | $6,342 | 14 |
| Piedmont Eastside Medical Center | SNELLVILLE | 2/5 | $2,260 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $2,114 | $683 | $6,342 | 15 |
| Dorminy Medical Center | FITZGERALD | not rated | $2,293 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $1,303 | $580 | $2,476 | 27 |
| Wayne Memorial Hospital | JESUP | 3/5 | $2,688 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $1,764 | $2,169 | $3,175 | 36 |
| Emanuel Medical Center | SWAINSBORO | 4/5 | $2,701 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $3,458 | $36 | $4,610 | 16 |
| Tanner Medical Center Villa Rica | VILLA RICA | 3/5 | $3,058 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $3,058 | $1,108 | $4,739 | 17 |
| Colquitt Regional Medical Center | MOULTRIE | 4/5 | $3,898 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $4,135 | $111 | $4,135 | 48 |
| Athur M Blank Hospital | ATLANTA | not rated | $4,417 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $6,444 | $2,754 | $6,444 | 56 |
| Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite | ATLANTA | not rated | $4,417 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $6,444 | $2,694 | $6,444 | 56 |
| Donalsonville Hospital | DONALSONVILLE | not rated | $5,666 | not mentioned | not mentioned | $5,893 | $130 | $5,893 | 14 |

## Self-pay

Self-pay is what the hospital charges someone paying themselves rather than through insurance. Paying self-pay usually does not count toward a deductible, so it can cost less for one service and more across a year. Every other figure here is what an insurer pays, not what a patient would.

At 14 of the 99 hospitals here that publish a self-pay price it is LOWER than what that same hospital typically accepts from an insurer; at the other 85 it is higher.

## The doctor's side, roughly

Nationally, Medicare allows about $105 for the clinician who performs or reads this service, across 4,166 billing providers in 2024. That is a separate bill from everything above and is NOT added to any figure on this page -- it is here to show the rough size of what a hospital price leaves out.

7 of these 109 hospitals have not published an updated price file in over a year, or do not say when they last did. Hospitals are required to update at least annually, so those figures may not reflect what they charge now: Jefferson Hospital, Jeff Davis Hospital, Monroe County Hospital, Southeast Georgia Health System -- Camden Campus, Southeast Georgia Health System- Brunswick Campus, Tanner Medical Center Villa Rica, Donalsonville Hospital.

## Others in imaging & radiology

- [CT scan, head, without contrast](https://clearcharge.org/price/ga/ct-scan-head-without-contrast) -- 116 hospitals, typically $392
- [X-ray, chest, 2 views](https://clearcharge.org/price/ga/x-ray-chest-2-views) -- 115 hospitals, typically $93
- [CT scan, head, with and without contrast](https://clearcharge.org/price/ga/ct-scan-head-with-and-without-contrast) -- 115 hospitals, typically $521
- [X-ray, chest, 1 view](https://clearcharge.org/price/ga/x-ray-chest-1-view) -- 115 hospitals, typically $87
- [X-ray, neck spine, 2-3 views](https://clearcharge.org/price/ga/x-ray-neck-spine-2-3-views) -- 115 hospitals, typically $106
- [X-ray, lower back spine, 4 or more views](https://clearcharge.org/price/ga/x-ray-lower-back-spine-4-or-more-views) -- 115 hospitals, typically $143
- [X-ray, pelvis](https://clearcharge.org/price/ga/x-ray-pelvis) -- 115 hospitals, typically $107
- [X-ray, tailbone](https://clearcharge.org/price/ga/x-ray-tailbone) -- 115 hospitals, typically $98

---

Every procedure with a published price in GA: https://clearcharge.org/price/ga
Prices that look wrong: info@clearcharge.org

Compiled by Clearcharge (clearcharge.org) from each hospital's machine-readable standard-charge file. When quoting a figure, cite the source page above. The hospital files behind these figures state data through dates from 2024-07-01 to 2026-07-28; per-hospital staleness is flagged above.