Brain MRI with contrast cost in Watertown, NY
In Watertown-Fort Drum, NY, 1 hospital lists a cash price for MRI of the brain, with and without contrast dye: from $8,432.00 to $8,432.00, with a median of $8,432.00. Across New York, the median is $1,602.99 at 80 hospitals.
Cash prices at 1 facility for code 70553, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Feb 2, 2026 and Feb 2, 2026.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samaritan Medical Center St. Watertown, NY · (315) 785-4000 MRI BRAIN W/O FOLLOWED BY WITH | $8,432.00 | $8,432.00 | $435.49–$7,167.20 | — | Feb 2, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $8,432.00, median $8,432.00, highest $8,432.00.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 1 facility here, median $8,432.00. 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 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.