Thoracic spine CT cost in Lancaster, PA
In Lancaster, PA, 3 hospitals list a cash price for thoracic spine (mid back) CT scan without contrast: from $154.23 to $876.00, with a median of $286.50. The lowest listed price is at Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center — $132.27 less than the median here. Across Pennsylvania, the median is $1,220.34 at 92 hospitals.
Cash prices at 3 facilities across 3 cities for code 72128, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between — and —.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Lancaster, PA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center lowest Lancaster, PA · (223) 287-9000 72128 CT SPINE THORACIC W/O CONTRAST Tech | $154.23 | $532.00 | $87.20–$448.36 | 71% | — source file |
| Penn State Health Lancaster Medical Center lowest Lancaster, PA · (223) 287-9000 72128 CT CHEST SPINE W/O DYE Tech | $154.23 | $532.00 | $87.20–$448.36 | 71% | — source file |
| Ephrata Community Hospital Ephrata, PA · (717) 733-0311 CT Scan of Middle Spine Without Contrast | $286.50 | $1,610.00 | $103.73–$1,127.00 | 82% | — source file |
| UPMC Lititz Lititz, PA · (717) 625-2000 HC CT THORACIC W/O CNTRST | $876.00 | $1,460.00 | $101.12–$1,241.00 | 40% | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $154.23, median $286.50, highest $876.00 — a 5.7× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 3 facilities here, median $286.50. 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 3 of 3 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.