SelfPayRates — hospital cash prices, from the source

MRI of the brain, with and without contrast dye in Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA

Cash prices at 3 facilities across 2 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 28, 2026 and Mar 31, 2026.

HospitalCash price List priceOffFile date
Allen Memorial Hospital Corporation WATERLOO, IA
PR MRI BRAIN COMBO
$945.60 $1,182.00 20% Jan 28, 2026
file
Allen Memorial Hospital Corporation WATERLOO, IA
HC MRI BRAIN W WO CONTRAST
$2,021.09 $2,526.36 20% Jan 28, 2026
file
Sartori Memorial Hospital Inc CEDAR FALLS, IA
HC MRI Brain W/O & W/Contrast
$3,315.00 $5,100.00 35% Mar 31, 2026
file
Covenant Medical Center Inc WATERLOO, IA
HC MRI Brain W/O & W/Contrast
$3,315.00 $5,100.00 35% Mar 31, 2026
file

Outpatient: lowest $945.60, median $2,668.05, highest $3,315.00 — a 3.5× difference within the same market.

As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 3 facilities here, median $2,668.05. Inpatient and outpatient prices are not comparable and are kept on separate pages: the inpatient charge covers admission, not the same purchase.

Other markets for this procedure