MRI of the brain, with and without contrast dye in Duluth, MN-WI
In Duluth, MN-WI, 5 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the brain, with and without contrast dye: from $678.30 to $4,659.36, with a median of $2,901.31. The lowest listed price is at Range Regional Health Services.
Cash prices at 5 facilities across 5 cities for code 70553, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jan 1, 2026 and Apr 1, 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 Duluth, MN-WI.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Range Regional Health Services lowest Hibbing, MN HC MRI BRAIN WO&W CONTRAST | $678.30 | $1,596.00 | 58% | Jan 29, 2026 source file |
| Aspirus St. Luke’s Hospital Duluth, MN Pro MRI Brain W/O & W/Dye | $812.19 | $1,493.00 | 46% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Essentia Health Moose Lake Moose Lake, MN MRI BRAIN W & WO CONTRAST | $2,901.31 | $3,926.00 | 26% | Jan 1, 2026 source file |
| Essentia Health Northern Pines Aurora, MN MRI BRAIN W & WO CONTRAST | $2,901.31 | $3,926.00 | 26% | Jan 1, 2026 source file |
| Essentia Health St Marys Hospital-Superior Superior, WI MRI BRAIN W & WO CONTRAST | $2,901.31 | $3,926.00 | 26% | Jan 1, 2026 source file |
| Aspirus St. Luke’s Hospital Duluth, MN Brain MRI Without and With Contrast | $3,847.17 | $7,072.00 | 46% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Aspirus St. Luke’s Hospital Duluth, MN MRI BRAIN BRAIN STEM W/O W/CONTRAST MATERIAL | $4,659.36 | $8,565.00 | 46% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $678.30, median $2,901.31, highest $4,659.36 — a 6.9× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 5 facilities here, median $2,901.31. 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.
1 row held back from this comparison
It is 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.
| Range Regional Health Services Hibbing, MNAS MRI BRAIN WO&W CONTRAST | $38.25 | file |