MRI of the lower back (no dye)

A detailed magnetic scan of the lumbar spine - the standard test for sciatica or a suspected disc problem.
Code 72148 · Imaging & scans · by county · negotiated in-network prices · by state, with single plans
Payers shown: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts · all plans together
Prices shown: every in-person setting
Doctor’s fee or facility fee? This mixes two kinds of price: 72% are doctors' fees and 28% are facility fees paid to a hospital or surgery center. Facility fees are usually far higher, so a wide spread can be the two kinds side by side, not providers charging wildly different amounts. Either way, expect a doctor's fee and a facility fee as separate bills when this is done in a hospital or surgery center.
CountyProvidersLowest25th pctMedian 75th pctHighestvs Medicare
“x Medicare” compares each price with what original Medicare pays a doctor for the same service in the same state under its physician fee schedule (RVU26D, in force from 2026-10-01) — the price for a doctor's own office. Insurers write their contracts as a share of Medicare, so 1.3x means the insurer pays 30% more than Medicare would; Medicare Advantage plans generally pay close to 1.0x. The prices on this map include a facility fee, which Medicare pays separately and which is not in its physician price, so the ratio here runs high and is a rough guide only.
Counties with fewer than five providers are not shown. A price in a county with one or two providers would be those providers’ own price; provider-level detail is not published here, but this specific data can be requested here. A provider is placed in the county of the practice address it registered with the federal NPI registry.