Scans and imaging CPT 72131 Outpatient

Lumbar spine CT cost in Detroit, MI

In Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI, 30 hospitals list a cash price for CT scan of the lower back (lumbar spine) without contrast: from $143.75 to $4,821.75, with a median of $1,687.40. The lowest listed price is at Henry Ford Health Hospital and 1 other hospital — $1,543.65 less than the median here. Across Michigan, the median is $1,083.55 at 95 hospitals.

  • The median here, $1,687.40, is 21% above the US median of $1,397.59.
  • That is 15.8× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($106.81).
  • Detroit, MI ranks 2nd of 2 metro areas in Michigan by median, cheapest first.
  • 9 of 30 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.

Cash prices at 30 facilities across 22 cities for code 72131, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Oct 26, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Dec 31, 2025 and Sep 2, 2026.

Lowest$143.75Henry Ford Health Hospital + 1 more
Median$1,687.40half of hospitals charge less
Highest$4,821.75in this market
Difference33.5×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 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI.

median
Lowest $143.75Highest $4,821.75

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash priceList priceInsurers payOff list
Henry Ford Health Hospital lowest Detroit, MI · (313) 916-2600 HB CT LUMBAR SPINE W/O CONTRAST File of Jun 28, 2026 · source file $143.75 $1,560.00 $55.86–$1,592.00 91%
Henry Ford Health West Bloomfield Hospital lowest West Bloomfield, MI · (248) 325-1000 HB CT LUMBAR SPINE W/O CONTRAST File of Jun 28, 2026 · source file $143.75 $1,560.00 $54.95–$1,592.00 91%
Ascension River District Hospital East China Township, MI · (810) 329-7111 CT LUMBAR SPINE W/O CONTRAST+1 more line at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file $421.68 $753.00 $59.17–$448.20 44%
Henry Ford Health St John Hospital Detroit, MI · (313) 343-4000 CT LUMBAR SPINE W/O CONTRAST+1 more line at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file $542.08 $968.00 $59.17–$448.20 44%
Henry Ford Health Warren Hospital Warren, MI · (586) 573-5000 CT LUMBAR SPINE W/O CONTRAST+1 more line at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file $632.24 $1,129.00 $59.17–$448.20 44%
Henry Ford Providence Novi Hospital - Novi Campus Novi, MI · (248) 849-3000 L-SPINE W/O CONTRAST-CT+1 more line at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file $651.28 $1,163.00 $59.17–$269.55 44%
Henry Ford Providence Southfield Hospital Southfield, MI · (248) 849-3000 L-SPINE W/O CONTRAST-CT+1 more line at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file $651.28 $1,163.00 $59.17–$269.55 44%
Surgeons Choice Medical Center Southfield, MI CT LUMBAR SPINE W/O File of May 8, 2026 · source file $700.00 $700.00 $91.88–$102.09 —
McLaren Lapeer Region Lapeer, MI · (810) 667-5500 CT Spine Lumbar w/o Contrast File of Dec 31, 2025 · source file $816.25 $1,632.50 $58.17–$1,142.75 50%
Henry Ford Rochester Hospital Rochester, MI · (248) 652-5000 CT LUMBAR SPINE W/O CONT File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file $877.96 $1,868.00 $152.21–$161.73 53%
Karmanos Cancer Center Detroit, MI · (800) 576-6266 72131 CT-LUMB SPINE (W/O+1 more line at this price File of Dec 31, 2025 · source file $888.30 $1,776.60 $58.17–$1,332.45 50%
McLaren Port Huron Port Huron, MI · (810) 987-5000 CT LUMBAR SPINE W/O DYE File of Dec 31, 2025 · source file $909.55 $1,819.10 $58.17–$924.10 50%
McLaren Port Huron Port Huron, MI · (810) 987-5000 CT Spine Lumbar w/o Contrast File of Dec 31, 2025 · source file $941.40 $1,882.80 $58.17–$1,412.10 50%
McLaren Oakland Pontiac, MI · (248) 338-5000 CT Spine Lumbar w/o Contrast File of Dec 31, 2025 · source file $981.15 $1,962.30 $58.17–$1,415.21 50%
McLaren Macomb Mount Clemens, MI · (586) 493-8000 CT Spine Lumbar w/o Contrast File of Dec 31, 2025 · source file $1,158.05 $2,316.10 $58.17–$1,563.37 50%
St Joseph Mercy Livingston Hospital Brighton, MI · (517) 545-6000 HC CT Lumbar Spine W/O Contrast File of Mar 31, 2026 · source file $1,687.40 $2,596.00 $58.40–$2,596.00 35%
St Joseph Mercy Oakland Pontiac, MI · (248) 858-3000 HC CT Lumbar Spine W/O Contrast File of Mar 31, 2026 · source file $1,687.40 $2,596.00 $57.25–$2,596.00 35%
St Mary Mercy Livonia Livonia, MI · (734) 655-4800 HC CT Lumbar Spine W/O Contrast File of Mar 31, 2026 · source file $1,687.40 $2,596.00 $57.25–$2,596.00 35%
VHS Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital Commerce Charter Twp, MI · (248) 937-3370 CT SPINE LUMBAR W/O CM File of May 20, 2026 · source file $1,965.75 $2,621.00 $1.00–$202.35 25%
Harper University Hospital Detroit, MI · (313) 745-6211 CT SPINE LUMBAR W/O CM+1 more line at this price File of Aug 20, 2026 · source file $2,042.25 $2,723.00 $1.00–$202.35 25%
Beaumont Hospital - Grosse Pointe Grosse Pointe, MI · (313) 473-1000 HC CT LUMBAR SPINE WO CONTRAST+1 more line at this price File of May 1, 2026 · source file $2,401.00 $2,401.00 — —
Beaumont Hospital, Troy Troy, MI · (248) 964-8800 HC CT LUMBAR SPINE WO CONTRAST+1 more line at this price File of May 1, 2026 · source file $2,401.00 $2,401.00 — —
Beaumont Hospital Royal Oak Royal Oak, MI · (248) 898-5400 HC CT LUMBAR SPINE WO CONTRAST File of May 1, 2026 · source file $2,401.00 $2,401.00 — —
Corewell Health Farmington Hills Hospital Farmington Hills, MI · (248) 471-8000 HC CT LUMBAR SPINE WO CONTRAST File of May 1, 2026 · source file $2,401.00 $2,401.00 — —
Beaumont Hospital - Taylor Taylor, MI · (313) 295-5000 HC CT LUMBAR SPINE WO CONTRAST+1 more line at this price File of May 1, 2026 · source file $2,401.00 $2,401.00 — —
Corewell Health Trenton Hospital Trenton, MI · (734) 671-3800 HC CT LUMBAR SPINE WO CONTRAST+1 more line at this price File of May 1, 2026 · source file $2,401.00 $2,401.00 — —
Corewell Health Wayne Hospital Wayne, MI · (734) 467-4175 Hc Ct Lumbar Spine Wo Contrast+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file $2,401.00 $2,401.00 — —
Beaumont Hospital - Dearborn Dearborn, MI · (313) 593-7125 HC CT LUMBAR SPINE WO CONTRAST File of May 1, 2026 · source file $2,401.00 $2,401.00 — —
VHS Childrens Hospital of Michigan Detroit, MI · (313) 745-5437 CT SPINE LUMBAR W/O CM File of Apr 6, 2026 · source file $2,445.75 $3,261.00 — 25%
VHS Detroit Receiving Hospital Detroit, MI · (313) 745-2941 CT SPINE LUMBAR W/O CM File of Apr 7, 2026 · source file $3,630.75 $4,841.00 — 25%
VHS Sinai Grace Hospital Detroit, MI · (313) 966-3300 CT SPINE LUMBAR W/O CM File of Apr 8, 2026 · source file $4,821.75 $6,429.00 — 25%
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.
No cash discount This line's cash price equals the hospital's full list price. Many hospitals still reduce bills for uninsured patients: ask the billing office for its self-pay discount in writing. More

Outpatient: lowest $143.75, median $1,687.40, highest $4,821.75 — a 33.5× difference within the same market.

As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 25 facilities here, median $1,687.40. 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 11 of 19 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 lumbar spine CT is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Lumbar spine CT explained.