Mid back X-ray cost in Duluth, MN
In Duluth, MN-WI, 11 hospitals list a cash price for X-ray of the mid back (thoracic spine), 2 views: from $45.41 to $364.50, with a median of $232.98. The lowest listed price is at Range Regional Health Services — $187.57 less than the median here. Across Minnesota, the median is $232.98 at 83 hospitals.
- The median here, $232.98, is 16% below the US median of $278.20.
- That is 2.2× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($106.81).
- Duluth, MN ranks 2nd of 2 metro areas in Minnesota by median, cheapest first.
- Every hospital here lists a cash price below its full list price.
Cash prices at 11 facilities across 8 cities for code 72070, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jan 1, 2026 and Sep 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 | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Range Regional Health Services lowest Hibbing, MN · (218) 362-6730 HC X-RAY THORACIC SPINE 2 VIEWS File of Jan 29, 2026 · source file | $45.41 | $106.83 | $36.86–$908.42 | 57% |
| Aspirus St. Luke’s Hospital Duluth, MN · (218) 249-2449 Thoracic/Dorsal Spine,2 Views File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $174.62 | $321.00 | — | 46% |
| Essentia Health Virginia Virginia, MN · (218) 741-3340 XRAY THORACIC SPINE 2 VWS File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $221.68 | $353.00 | $81.19–$319.11 | 37% |
| Essentia Health Duluth Duluth, MN · (218) 786-2652 XRAY THORACIC SPINE 2 VWS File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $232.98 | $353.00 | $116.84–$303.58 | 34% |
| Essentia Health St. Mary's Children's Hospital Duluth, MN XRAY THORACIC SPINE 2 VWS File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $232.98 | $353.00 | $116.84–$303.58 | 34% |
| Essentia Health St. Mary's Medical Center Duluth, MN · (218) 786-3574 XRAY THORACIC SPINE 2 VWS File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $232.98 | $353.00 | $116.84–$303.58 | 34% |
| Essentia Health Moose Lake Moose Lake, MN · (218) 786-1367 XRAY THORACIC SPINE 2 VWS File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $260.87 | $353.00 | $140.49–$319.47 | 26% |
| Essentia Health St Marys Hospital-Superior Superior, WI · (715) 817-7000 XRAY THORACIC SPINE 2 VWS File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $260.87 | $353.00 | $112.96–$319.47 | 26% |
| Essentia Health Northern Pines Aurora, MN · (218) 229-4222 XRAY THORACIC SPINE 2 VWS File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $260.87 | $353.00 | $135.52–$353.00 | 26% |
| The Cook Hospital Cook, MN · (218) 666-5945 XR thoracic spine 2V File of Aug 10, 2026 · source file | $310.86 | $471.00 | — | 34% |
| Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital Ely, MN · (218) 365-3271 X-ray of middle spine, 2 views File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $364.50 | $450.00 | $153.86–$450.00 | 19% |
Outpatient: lowest $45.41, median $232.98, highest $364.50 — a 8.0× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 7 facilities here, median $232.98. 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 9 of 9 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at none is it below every plan's rate. 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 mid back X-ray is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Mid back X-ray explained.
1 row held back from this comparison
It is priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 72070 ($280.70). 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.
| Hospital | Cash price | File |
|---|---|---|
| Community Memorial Hospital Cloquet, MNORT-RAD EXAM,SPINE;THORAC 2 VW | $25.60 | file |