MRI of the brain, with and without contrast dye in Akron, OH
In Akron, OH, 3 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the brain, with and without contrast dye: from $350.00 to $6,095.25, with a median of $1,601.60. The lowest listed price is at Crystal Clinic Orthopaedic Center LLC.
Cash prices at 3 facilities across 2 cities for code 70553, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 22, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Nov 11, 2025 and Jun 19, 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 Akron, OH.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crystal Clinic Orthopaedic Center LLC lowest Fairlawn, OH MRI scan of brain before and after contrast | $350.00 | $8,707.00 | 96% | Jun 19, 2026 source file |
| Akron General Medical Center Akron, OH MRI BRAIN BRAIN STEM W/O W/CONTRAST MATERIAL | $1,601.60 | $2,464.00 | 35% | Jun 15, 2026 source file |
| Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron Akron, OH HB MRI BRAIN W/O & W/CM | $6,095.25 | $8,127.00 | 25% | Nov 11, 2025 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $350.00, median $1,601.60, highest $6,095.25 — a 17.4× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 1 facility here, median $1,601.60. Inpatient and outpatient prices are not comparable and are kept on separate pages: the inpatient charge covers admission, not the same purchase.
What it is
This brain MRI is done in two parts: first without contrast dye, then again after a gadolinium contrast dye is injected into a vein. The contrast helps show tumors, infection, inflammation and conditions such as multiple sclerosis more clearly.
What the price covers
The hospital price usually covers both sets of images. The radiologist's reading is often billed separately, and the contrast agent may appear as its own pharmacy charge.
2 rows held back from this comparison
They are priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 70553 ($2,545.78). Such a line is almost always a physician's fee billed separately, an assistant's share or a placeholder — a real charge, but not the price of the procedure itself.
| Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron Akron, OHCHG MRI BRAIN COMBO | $0.60 | file |
| Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron Akron, OHCHG MRI BRAIN BRAIN STEM W/O W/CONTRAST MATERIAL | $196.20 | file |