Lower back MRI cost in Omaha, NE
In Omaha, NE-IA, 14 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the lower back, no contrast dye: from $500.00 to $3,834.00, with a median of $1,458.56. The lowest listed price is at Midwest Surgical Hospital — $958.56 less than the median here. Across Nebraska, the median is $3,216.00 at 51 hospitals.
- The median here, $1,458.56, is 23% below the US median of $1,903.81.
- That is 6.0× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($243.77).
- 1 of 14 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 14 facilities across 7 cities for code 72148, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Nov 5, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Feb 14, 2026 and Sep 30, 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 Omaha, NE-IA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midwest Surgical Hospital lowest Omaha, NE · (402) 399-1900 MRI SCAN OF LOWER SPINAL CANAL WITHOUT CONTRAST+1 more line at this price File of Mar 5, 2026 · source file | $500.00 | $1,790.00 | $246.55–$1,831.00 | 72% |
| Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital Council Bluffs, IA · (712) 396-6000 MRI Exam File of Feb 15, 2026 · source file | $900.30 | $3,001.00 | $452.93–$2,100.70 | 70% |
| Nebraska Methodist Hospital Omaha, NE · (402) 354-4000 MRI Exam+1 more line at this price File of Feb 14, 2026 · source file | $1,080.36 | $3,001.00 | $452.93–$2,100.70 | 64% |
| Bellevue Medical Center Bellevue, NE · (402) 763-3600 MRI scan of lower spinal canal without contrast File of Aug 10, 2026 · source file | $1,121.25 | $1,725.00 | $351.02–$4,454.81 | 35% |
| Nebraska Medical Center Omaha, NE · (402) 559-4000 MRI scan of lower spinal canal without contrast File of Aug 10, 2026 · source file | $1,121.25 | $1,725.00 | $351.02–$4,454.81 | 35% |
| Alegent Health Immanuel Medical Center Omaha, NE · (402) 572-2121 HC MR LUMBAR WO CONTRAST File of Sep 30, 2026 · source file | $1,458.56 | $3,392.00 | $201.82–$2,883.20 | 57% |
| CHI Health Bergan Mercy Omaha, NE · (402) 398-6020 HC MR LUMBAR WO CONTRAST File of Sep 30, 2026 · source file | $1,458.56 | $3,392.00 | $200.71–$2,883.20 | 57% |
| CHI Health Mercy Council Bluffs Council Bluffs, IA · (712) 328-5000 HC MR LUMBAR WO CONTRAST File of Sep 30, 2026 · source file | $1,458.56 | $3,392.00 | $220.99–$2,883.20 | 57% |
| CHI Health Lakeside Omaha, NE · (402) 717-8000 HC MR LUMBAR WO CONTRAST File of Sep 30, 2026 · source file | $1,458.56 | $3,392.00 | $193.66–$2,883.20 | 57% |
| CHI Health Midlands Papillion, NE · (402) 593-3000 HC MR LUMBAR WO CONTRAST File of Sep 30, 2026 · source file | $1,458.56 | $3,392.00 | $193.66–$2,883.20 | 57% |
| Alegent Health Community Memorial Hospital of Missouri Valley, Iowa Missouri Valley, IA · (712) 642-2784 HC MR LUMBAR WO CONTRAST File of Sep 30, 2026 · source file | $2,414.50 | $4,829.00 | $1,484.25–$4,732.42 | 50% |
| Memorial Community Hospital Blair, NE · (402) 426-1502 MRI scan of lower spinal canal without contrast File of Jul 15, 2026 · source file | $2,666.96 | $3,333.70 | $1,566.84–$3,267.03 | 20% |
| Saunders Medical Center Wahoo, NE · (402) 443-4191 MRI Spine Lumbar w/o Contrast File of Mar 31, 2026 · source file | $3,074.25 | $4,099.00 | — | 25% |
| Nebraska Spine Hospital Omaha, NE · (402) 572-3000 HC MR LUMBAR WO CONTRAST File of Jul 20, 2026 · source file | $3,834.00 | $3,834.00 | $247.76–$3,834.00 | — |
Outpatient: lowest $500.00, median $1,458.56, highest $3,834.00 — a 7.7× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 10 facilities here, median $1,458.56. 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 12 of 13 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.