Thoracic spine CT cost in McAllen, TX
In McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX, 2 hospitals list a cash price for thoracic spine (mid back) CT scan without contrast: from $2,042.43 to $15,924.32, with a median of $8,983.38. The lowest listed price is at Driscoll Children's Hospital Rio Grande Valley — $6,940.95 less than the median here. Across Texas, the median is $1,980.37 at 286 hospitals.
Cash prices at 2 facilities across 2 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 Oct 6, 2025 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 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Driscoll Children's Hospital Rio Grande Valley lowest Edinburg, TX · (361) 694-5041 CT Thoracic Spine WO Cont | $2,042.43 | $10,212.16 | $108.97–$165.82 | 80% | Oct 6, 2025 source file |
| Rio Grande Regional Hospital San Juan, TX · (956) 632-6000 CT T-SPINE W/O CONTRAST | $15,924.32 | $15,924.32 | $1,114.70–$13,535.67 | — | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $2,042.43, median $8,983.38, highest $15,924.32 — a 7.8× difference within the same market.
Cash or insurance?
At 0 of 2 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.
2 rows held back from this comparison
They are priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 72128 ($1,369.20). 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.
| Mission Regional Medical Center Mission, TXCT THORACIC SPINE WO | $104.00 | file |
| Knapp Medical Center Weslaco, TXHc Ct Scan,Thoracic Spine,W/O Contrast | $104.00 | file |