Scans and imaging CPT 72146 Outpatient

Thoracic spine MRI cost in Ardmore, OK

In Ardmore, OK, 3 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the mid back (thoracic spine), no contrast dye: from $666.75 to $2,796.95, with a median of $2,566.20. The lowest listed price is at Mercy Hospital Headlton — $1,899.45 less than the median here. Across Oklahoma, the median is $1,017.26 at 24 hospitals.

Cash prices at 3 facilities across 2 cities for code 72146, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jun 12, 2026 and Jun 12, 2026.

Lowest$666.75Mercy Hospital Headlton
Median$2,566.20half pay less
Highest$2,796.95in this market
Difference4.2×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 Ardmore, OK.

median
Lowest $666.75Highest $2,796.95

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash price List priceInsurers payOff listFile date
Mercy Hospital Headlton lowest Healdton, OK MRI Spinal Canal Thoracic W/O Contrast Matrl $666.75 $889.00 $488.95 25% Jun 12, 2026
source file
Mercy Hospital Healdton Healdton, OK · (580) 229-0701 MRI Thoracic Spine WO Cont $2,566.20 $3,948.00 $1,084.52–$3,553.20 35% —
source file
Mercy Hospital Ardmore Northwest Ardmore, OK · (580) 223-5400 MRI Thoracic Spine WO Cont $2,796.95 $4,303.00 $520.00–$1,513.00 35% —
source file

Outpatient: lowest $666.75, median $2,566.20, highest $2,796.95 — a 4.2× difference within the same market.

As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 1 facility here, median $666.75. 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 1 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

An MRI of the thoracic spine makes detailed pictures of the middle section of the spine, between the neck and the lower back, including discs, vertebrae and the spinal cord. It is ordered for mid-back pain, suspected fractures or nerve symptoms. No contrast dye is used.

What the price covers

The hospital price usually covers the scan of the mid-back section only. The radiologist's reading is often billed separately.