Scans and imaging CPT 72146 Outpatient

Thoracic spine MRI cost in Columbus, GA

In Columbus, GA-AL, 2 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the mid back (thoracic spine), no contrast dye: from $1,238.05 to $1,238.05, with a median of $1,238.05. The lowest listed price is at Piedmont Columbus Regional - Midtown and 1 other hospital. Across Georgia, the median is $1,762.41 at 83 hospitals.

Cash prices at 2 facilities for code 72146, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jul 1, 2026 and Jul 1, 2026.

Lowest$1,238.05Piedmont Columbus Regional - Midtown + 1 more
Median$1,238.05half pay less
Highest$1,238.05in this market
Difference1.0×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 Columbus, GA-AL.

median
Lowest $1,238.05Highest $1,238.05

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash price List priceInsurers payOff listFile date
Piedmont Columbus Regional - Midtown lowest Columbus, GA · (706) 571-1000 HC MRI Thorac Spine WO Cntrst $1,238.05 $4,126.85 $360.71–$3,507.82 70% Jul 1, 2026
source file
Piedmont Columbus Regional - Northside lowest Columbus, GA · (706) 494-2101 HC MRI Thorac Spine WO Cntrst $1,238.05 $4,126.85 $360.71–$3,507.82 70% Jul 1, 2026
source file

Outpatient: lowest $1,238.05, median $1,238.05, highest $1,238.05.

As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 2 facilities here, median $1,238.05. 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 2 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

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.