Scans and imaging CPT 72100 Inpatient — admitted to hospital

Lower back X-ray cost in New Orleans, LA — inpatient

In New Orleans-Metairie, LA, 5 hospitals list a cash price for X-ray of the lower back (lumbar spine), 2 or 3 views as an inpatient: from $65.34 to $225.01, with a median of $76.68. The lowest listed price is at Ochsner Clinic Foundation — $11.34 less than the median here. Across Louisiana, the median is $148.85 at 59 hospitals.

Cash prices at 5 facilities across 4 cities for code 72100, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Apr 1, 2026 and Sep 16, 2026.

Lowest$65.34Ochsner Clinic Foundation

Median$76.68half of hospitals charge less

Highest$225.01in this market

Difference3.4×highest vs lowest

Where each hospital's price falls

Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in New Orleans-Metairie, LA.

median

Lowest $65.34Highest $225.01

Hospitals, cheapest first

Hospital	Cash price	List price	Insurers pay	Off list
Ochsner Clinic Foundation lowest New Orleans, LA · (504) 842-3000 HC SPINE LUMBAR 2 OR 3V File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file	$65.34	$297.00	—	78%
Ochsner Medical Center – Kenner Kenner, LA · (504) 464-8065 HC SPINE LUMBAR 2 OR 3V File of Sep 16, 2026 · source file	$67.48	$241.00	—	72%
St Charles Parish Hospital Luling, LA · (985) 785-3644 HC SPINE LUMBAR 2 OR 3V File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file	$76.68	$284.00	—	73%
St Bernard Parish Hospital Chalmette, LA · (504) 826-9500 HC SPINE LUMBAR 2 OR 3V File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file	$78.72	$246.00	—	68%
St Charles Surgical Hospital New Orleans, LA · (504) 529-6600 XR SPINE LUMBOSACRAL 2-3 VWS File of Aug 17, 2026 · source file	$225.01	$638.04	$95.70–$292.22	65%

Hospital The hospital that published the price, its city and the line exactly as written in its price file.

Cash price The hospital's own price for a patient paying without insurance (“discounted cash” in its price file). Hospitals must publish it under federal law, 45 CFR 180.50. Call to confirm it before booking. More

List price The hospital's full chargemaster price (“gross charge”) before any discount. Almost nobody pays it; the gap to the cash price shows what the self-pay discount is worth. More

Insurers pay The lowest and highest rates this hospital has agreed with insurance plans for the same item, from its price file. If the cash price is below what your plan pays and you have not met your deductible, paying cash can cost you less. More

Off list How much lower the cash price is than the list price.

At or below Medicare This cash price is at or below what Medicare pays a hospital for the same service, which is unusually low. It is what the hospital's file says; confirm it and what it includes before booking. More

Inpatient: lowest $65.34, median $76.68, highest $225.01 — a 3.4× difference within the same market.

As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 14 facilities here, median $140.97 — 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 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

A lower back X-ray shows the bones of the lumbar spine in two or three views. It is used after injuries, for suspected fractures and for back pain with warning signs.

What the price covers

The price usually covers taking the images. The radiologist's reading may be billed separately.