Brain MRI cost in Louisville, KY
In Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN, 17 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the brain, no contrast dye: from $581.14 to $3,258.04, with a median of $1,110.36. The lowest listed price is at Norton Clark Hospital — $529.22 less than the median here. Across Kentucky, the median is $1,747.71 at 76 hospitals.
- The median here, $1,110.36, is 40% below the US median of $1,840.20.
- That is 4.6× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($243.77).
- Louisville, KY has the lowest median of 2 metro areas in Kentucky with at least 10 hospitals pricing this code.
- Every hospital here lists a cash price below its full list price.
Cash prices at 17 facilities across 9 cities for code 70551, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Oct 2, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jan 1, 2026 and Sep 25, 2026.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norton Clark Hospital lowest Jeffersonville, IN · (812) 283-2147 HB MRI BRAIN WO CONTR SHUNT+2 more lines at this price File of Jun 3, 2026 · source file | $581.14 | $4,151.00 | $119.07–$3,632.13 | 86% |
| Norton Children's Hospital Louisville, KY HB MRI BRAIN WO CONTR SHUNT File of Feb 11, 2026 · source file | $724.60 | $3,623.00 | $117.12–$3,079.55 | 80% |
| Norton Brownsboro Hospital Louisville, KY HB MRI BRAIN WO CONTR SHUNT File of Feb 11, 2026 · source file | $724.60 | $3,623.00 | $117.12–$3,007.09 | 80% |
| Norton West Louisville Hospital Louisville, KY HB MRI BRAIN WO CONTR SHUNT File of Feb 11, 2026 · source file | $724.60 | $3,623.00 | $117.12–$3,007.09 | 80% |
| Norton Women's and Kosair Children's Hospital Louisville, KY HB MRI BRAIN WO CONTR SHUNT File of Feb 13, 2026 · source file | $724.60 | $3,623.00 | $117.12–$3,007.09 | 80% |
| Norton Hospital Louisville, KY · (502) 629-8000 HB MRI BRAIN WO CONTR SHUNT File of Feb 11, 2026 · source file | $724.60 | $3,623.00 | $117.12–$3,007.09 | 80% |
| Saints Mary & Elizabeth Hospital Louisville, KY MRI BRAIN WO CONTRAST File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $1,019.16 | $2,831.00 | $475.61–$2,831.00 | 64% |
| University of Louisville Hospital Louisville, KY · (502) 562-3000 XA PTA AORTA+1 more line at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $1,079.28 | $4,497.00 | $755.50–$4,497.00 | 76% |
| Norton Brownsboro Hospital Louisville, KY HB MRI BRAIN W/O CONTRAST+1 more line at this price File of Feb 11, 2026 · source file | $1,094.40 | $5,472.00 | $117.12–$4,541.76 | 80% |
| Norton Children's Hospital Louisville, KY HB MRI FETAL BRAIN WO CONTRAST+1 more line at this price File of Feb 11, 2026 · source file | $1,094.40 | $5,472.00 | $117.12–$4,651.20 | 80% |
| Norton Hospital Louisville, KY · (502) 629-8000 HB MRI FETAL BRAIN WO CONTRAST+1 more line at this price File of Feb 11, 2026 · source file | $1,094.40 | $5,472.00 | $117.12–$4,541.76 | 80% |
| Norton Women's and Kosair Children's Hospital Louisville, KY HB MRI FETAL BRAIN WO CONTRAST+1 more line at this price File of Feb 13, 2026 · source file | $1,094.40 | $5,472.00 | $117.12–$4,541.76 | 80% |
| Norton West Louisville Hospital Louisville, KY HB MRI FETAL BRAIN WO CONTRAST+1 more line at this price File of Feb 11, 2026 · source file | $1,094.40 | $5,472.00 | $117.12–$4,541.76 | 80% |
| UofL Health -Shelbyville Shelbyville, KY · (502) 647-4000 MRI BRAIN WO CONTRAST File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $1,110.36 | $2,922.00 | $391.26–$2,922.00 | 62% |
| UofL Health-Louisville – South Hospital Shepherdville, KY MRI BRAIN WO CONTRAST File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $1,117.80 | $2,484.00 | $417.31–$2,484.00 | 55% |
| UofL Health - Jewish Hospital and Mary & Elizabeth Hospital Louisville, KY · (502) 587-4011 MRI BRAIN WO CONTRAST File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $1,314.90 | $2,922.00 | $490.90–$2,922.00 | 55% |
| CHI Saint Joseph Flaget Memorial Hospital Bardstown, KY · (502) 350-5000 HC MR BRAIN W/O CONTRAST File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $1,557.54 | $3,671.00 | $231.47–$3,340.61 | 58% |
| Saints Mary & Elizabeth Hospital Louisville, KY XA PTA AORTA File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $1,618.92 | $4,497.00 | $755.50–$4,497.00 | 64% |
| St. Vincent Salem Hospital Salem, IN · (812) 883-5881 MRI BRAIN WO/C+3 more lines at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $1,638.00 | $2,730.00 | $52.83–$1,999.72 | 40% |
| CHI Saint Joseph Flaget Memorial Hospital Bardstown, KY · (502) 350-5000 HC MRIG LIMITED BRAIN File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $1,686.95 | $3,976.00 | $231.47–$3,618.16 | 58% |
| Harrison County Hospital Corydon, IN · (812) 738-4251 MRI scan of brain without contrast File of Jul 16, 2026 · source file | $3,095.40 | $5,159.00 | $119.07–$4,643.10 | 40% |
| Baptist Health LaGrange La Grange, KY · (502) 222-5388 MRI scan of brain without contrast File of Sep 25, 2026 · source file | $3,258.04 | $4,344.05 | $390.96–$8,688.10 | 25% |
| Baptist Health Louisville Louisville, KY · (502) 897-8100 MRI scan of brain without contrast File of Sep 25, 2026 · source file | $3,258.04 | $4,344.05 | $167.78–$8,688.10 | 25% |
| Baptist Health Floyd New Albany, IN · (812) 944-7701 MRI scan of brain without contrast File of Sep 25, 2026 · source file | $3,258.04 | $4,344.05 | $119.07–$6,516.08 | 25% |
Outpatient: lowest $581.14, median $1,110.36, highest $3,258.04 — a 5.6× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 13 facilities here, median $1,019.16. Inpatient and outpatient prices are not comparable and are kept on separate pages: the inpatient charge covers admission, not the same purchase.
Cash or insurance?
At 17 of 17 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at none is it below every plan's rate. If you have insurance but have not met your deductible, you usually pay your plan's negotiated rate, which falls somewhere in the "Insurers pay" column. Paying cash can cost less, but a cash payment usually does not count toward your deductible. Ask the hospital for both numbers before you book.
What brain MRI is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Brain MRI explained.