Scans and imaging CPT 70553 Inpatient — admitted to hospital

Brain MRI with contrast cost in Beckley, WV — inpatient

In Beckley, WV, 1 hospital lists a cash price for MRI of the brain, with and without contrast dye as an inpatient: from $280.80 to $280.80, with a median of $280.80. Across West Virginia, the median is $1,963.70 at 24 hospitals.

Cash prices at 1 facility for code 70553, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between — and —.

Lowest$280.80Appalachian Regional Healthcare
Median$280.80half pay less
Highest$280.80in this market
Difference1.0×highest vs lowest

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash price List priceInsurers payOff listFile date
Appalachian Regional Healthcare Beckley, WV MR HEAD W/WO CONTRAST $280.80 $468.00 $81.59–$102.42 40% —
source file

Inpatient: lowest $280.80, median $280.80, highest $280.80.

As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 2 facilities here, median $1,110.85 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.

Cash or insurance?

At the one hospital here that publishes insurer rates for this code, the cash price is not below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated. 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 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.