Scans and imaging CPT 72146 Outpatient

Thoracic spine MRI cost in Tyler, TX

In Tyler, TX, 3 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the mid back (thoracic spine), no contrast dye: from $347.70 to $910.50, with a median of $910.50. The lowest listed price is at University of Texas Health Center at Tyler — $562.80 less than the median here. Across Texas, the median is $2,149.20 at 285 hospitals.

Cash prices at 3 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 — and —.

Lowest$347.70University of Texas Health Center at Tyler
Median$910.50half pay less
Highest$910.50in this market
Difference2.6×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 Tyler, TX.

median
Lowest $347.70Highest $910.50

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash price List priceInsurers payOff listFile date
University of Texas Health Center at Tyler lowest Tyler, TX · (903) 877-7777 MRI scan of middle spinal canal without contrast $347.70 $3,477.00 $196.14–$934.49 90% —
source file
UT Health East Texas Tyler Regional Hospital Tyler, TX · (903) 597-0351 MRI scan of middle spinal canal without contrast $910.50 $9,105.00 $196.14–$2,276.25 90% —
source file
UT Health Rehabilitation Hospital Tyler, TX MRI scan of middle spinal canal without contrast $910.50 $9,105.00 $230.75–$4,652.66 90% —
source file

Outpatient: lowest $347.70, median $910.50, highest $910.50 — a 2.6× difference within the same market.

As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 3 facilities here, median $910.50. 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

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.