Scans and imaging CPT 72128 Outpatient

Thoracic spine CT cost in Albuquerque, NM

In Albuquerque, NM, 5 hospitals list a cash price for thoracic spine (mid back) CT scan without contrast: from $789.60 to $3,395.64, with a median of $803.55. The lowest listed price is at Lovelace Westside Hospital and 1 other hospital — $13.95 less than the median here. Across New Mexico, the median is $1,624.65 at 18 hospitals.

Cash prices at 5 facilities across 2 cities for code 72128, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between — and —.

Lowest$789.60Lovelace Westside Hospital + 1 more

Median$803.55half of hospitals charge less

Highest$3,395.64in this market

Difference4.3×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 Albuquerque, NM.

median

Lowest $789.60Highest $3,395.64

Hospitals, cheapest first

Hospital	Cash price	List price	Insurers pay	Off list
Lovelace Westside Hospital lowest Albuquerque, NM · (505) 727-2001 CT scan of middle spine without contrast source file	$789.60	$2,632.00	$72.10–$1,316.00	70%
Lovelace Womens Hospital lowest Albuquerque, NM CT scan of middle spine without contrast source file	$789.60	$2,632.00	$100.98–$2,447.76	70%
University of New Mexico Hospital Albuquerque, NM · (505) 272-2111 CT SCAN OF MIDDLE SPINE WITHOUT CONTRAST source file	$803.55	$1,461.00	$92.69–$1,257.00	45%
Lovelace Medical Center Albuquerque, NM · (505) 727-8000 CT scan of middle spine without contrast source file	$1,106.40	$3,688.00	$101.61–$1,844.00	70%
Los Alamos Medical Center Los Alamos, NM · (505) 661-9500 Computed tomography, thoracic spine; without contrast material source file	$3,395.64	$5,659.40	$104.48–$5,659.40	40%

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.

Outpatient: lowest $789.60, median $803.55, highest $3,395.64 — a 4.3× difference within the same market.

As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 3 facilities here, median $789.60. 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 5 of 5 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 it is

A thoracic spine CT makes detailed pictures of the twelve vertebrae of the mid back. It is used mainly after an injury to look for fractures, and in older adults for compression fractures.

What the price covers

The hospital price usually covers the scan and any contrast dye. The radiologist's reading is often billed separately.