Lower back MRI cost in Duluth, MN
In Duluth, MN-WI, 12 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the lower back, no contrast dye: from $805.38 to $3,013.20, with a median of $2,000.62. The lowest listed price is at Range Regional Health Services — $1,195.24 less than the median here. Across Minnesota, the median is $2,036.24 at 84 hospitals.
- The median here, $2,000.62, is 5% above the US median of $1,903.81.
- That is 8.2× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($243.77).
- Duluth, MN ranks 2nd of 2 metro areas in Minnesota by median, cheapest first.
- Every hospital here lists a cash price below its full list price.
Cash prices at 12 facilities across 9 cities for code 72148, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jan 1, 2026 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 Duluth, MN-WI.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Range Regional Health Services lowest Hibbing, MN · (218) 362-6730 HC MRI LUMBAR SPINE W/O CONTRAST File of Jan 29, 2026 · source file | $805.38 | $1,895.00 | $182.93–$1,914.33 | 57% |
| Essentia Health Virginia Virginia, MN · (218) 741-3340 MRI L SPINE WO CONTRAST File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $1,778.50 | $2,832.00 | $651.36–$2,560.13 | 37% |
| Essentia Health St. Mary's Medical Center Duluth, MN · (218) 786-3574 MRI L SPINE WO CONTRAST File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $1,869.12 | $2,832.00 | $937.39–$2,435.52 | 34% |
| Essentia Health Duluth Duluth, MN · (218) 786-2652 MRI L SPINE WO CONTRAST File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $1,869.12 | $2,832.00 | $937.39–$2,435.52 | 34% |
| Essentia Health St. Mary's Children's Hospital Duluth, MN MRI L SPINE WO CONTRAST File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $1,869.12 | $2,832.00 | $937.39–$2,435.52 | 34% |
| The Cook Hospital Cook, MN · (218) 666-5945 MR lumbar spine wo con File of Aug 10, 2026 · source file | $1,908.39 | $2,891.50 | $584.50–$1,169.00 | 34% |
| Essentia Health St Marys Hospital-Superior Superior, WI · (715) 817-7000 MRI L SPINE WO CONTRAST File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $2,092.85 | $2,832.00 | $906.24–$2,562.96 | 26% |
| Essentia Health Moose Lake Moose Lake, MN · (218) 786-1367 MRI L SPINE WO CONTRAST File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $2,092.85 | $2,832.00 | $1,127.14–$2,562.96 | 26% |
| Essentia Health Northern Pines Aurora, MN · (218) 229-4222 MRI L SPINE WO CONTRAST File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $2,092.85 | $2,832.00 | $1,087.20–$2,832.00 | 26% |
| Community Memorial Hospital Cloquet, MN · (218) 879-4641 MRI LUMBAR SPINE W/O CONTRAST File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $2,170.24 | $3,391.00 | $406.00–$3,391.00 | 36% |
| Aspirus St. Luke’s Hospital Duluth, MN · (218) 249-2449 L Spine MRI Without Contrast File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $2,467.58 | $4,536.00 | — | 46% |
| Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital Ely, MN · (218) 365-3271 MRI scan of lower spinal canal without contrast File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $3,013.20 | $3,720.00 | $987.00–$3,720.00 | 19% |
Outpatient: lowest $805.38, median $2,000.62, highest $3,013.20 — a 3.7× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 11 facilities here, median $1,908.39. 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 10 of 11 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 lower back MRI is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Lower back MRI explained.