Lower back MRI cost in Riverside, CA
In Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA, 23 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the lower back, no contrast dye: from $305.00 to $13,281.00, with a median of $2,496.00. The lowest listed price is at Desert Valley Hospital and 2 other hospitals — $2,191.00 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $3,060.69 at 209 hospitals.
- The median here, $2,496.00, is 31% above the US median of $1,903.81.
- That is 10.2× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($243.77).
- Riverside, CA ranks 2nd of 5 metro areas in California by median, cheapest first.
- 6 of 23 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 23 facilities across 18 cities for code 72148, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Nov 1, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Feb 25, 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 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Desert Valley Hospital lowest Victorville, CA · (760) 241-8000 MRI L-SPINE W/O CON File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $305.00 | $4,234.00 | $181.42–$4,234.00 | 93% |
| Montclair Hospital Medical Center lowest Montclair, CA · (909) 625-8300 Hc Mri, Lumbar Spine File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $305.00 | $6,378.75 | $181.42–$6,378.75 | 95% |
| Chino Valley Medical Center lowest Chino, CA · (909) 627-6111 Hc Mri, Lumbar Spine File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $305.00 | $6,378.75 | $181.42–$6,378.75 | 95% |
| San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital Banning, CA · (951) 769-2101 MRI SCAN OF LOWER SPINAL CANAL WITHOUT CONTRAST File of May 20, 2026 · source file | $835.07 | $4,175.36 | $290.11–$916.14 | 80% |
| San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital Banning, CA · (951) 769-2101 MRI LUMBAR SPINE W/O DYE File of May 20, 2026 · source file | $864.30 | $4,321.50 | $290.11–$916.14 | 80% |
| St Mary Medical Center Apple Valley, CA · (760) 242-2311 HC MRI LUMBAR SPINE W/O DYE+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $996.48 | $2,076.00 | — | 52% |
| Community Hospital of San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA · (909) 887-6333 MR L SPINE WO CON File of Sep 30, 2026 · source file | $1,219.00 | $3,135.00 | $266.80–$3,135.00 | 61% |
| San Antonio Regional Hospital Upland, CA · (909) 985-2811 MRI scan of lower spinal canal without contrast File of Apr 2, 2026 · source file | $1,461.00 | $11,666.00 | $300.74–$21,436.28 | 87% |
| Redlands Community Hospital Redlands, CA · (909) 335-5500 MRI scan of lower spinal canal without contrast File of Jun 19, 2026 · source file | $2,268.00 | $9,450.00 | $202.88–$8,505.00 | 76% |
| St Bernardine Medical Center San Bernardino, CA · (909) 883-8711 MR L SPINE WO CON File of Sep 30, 2026 · source file | $2,462.46 | $7,481.00 | $266.80–$5,276.00 | 67% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Riverside Riverside, CA · (951) 353-2000 MRI SPINAL CANAL LUMBAR W/O CONTRAST MATERIAL File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $2,496.00 | $4,800.00 | $220.00–$655.00 | 48% |
| Kaiser Ontario Medical Center Campus Ontario, CA · (909) 427-5000 MRI SPINAL CANAL LUMBAR W/O CONTRAST MATERIAL File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $2,496.00 | $4,800.00 | $220.00–$655.00 | 48% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Moreno Valley Moreno Valley, CA · (951) 251-6530 MRI SPINAL CANAL LUMBAR W/O CONTRAST MATERIAL File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $2,496.00 | $4,800.00 | $220.00–$655.00 | 48% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Fontana Fontana, CA · (909) 427-5000 MRI SPINAL CANAL LUMBAR W/O CONTRAST MATERIAL File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $2,496.00 | $4,800.00 | $220.00–$655.00 | 48% |
| Palo Verde Hospital Blythe, CA · (760) 922-4115 MRI Spine Lumbar w/o Contrast File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file | $2,665.50 | $3,554.00 | — | 25% |
| Loma Linda University Childrens Hospital Loma Linda, CA · (909) 558-8000 HC MRI LUMBAR SPINE WO CONTR File of Sep 2, 2026 · source file | $2,758.05 | $6,129.00 | $306.88–$5,209.65 | 55% |
| Victor Valley Global Medical Center Victorville, CA · (760) 245-8691 MRI-LUMBAR SPINE W/O DYE File of May 13, 2026 · source file | $3,563.00 | $3,563.00 | $165.30–$3,563.00 | — |
| San Bernardino County Colton, CA · (909) 580-1000 HC MRI, LUMBAR SPINE - MRI LUMBAR SPINE WO CONTRAST File of Feb 25, 2026 · source file | $4,152.00 | $4,152.00 | $186.00–$3,010.20 | — |
| Menifee Global Medical Center Menifee, CA · (951) 679-8888 MRI LUMBAR W/O CONTRAST File of May 20, 2026 · source file | $4,316.00 | $4,316.00 | $219.48–$4,316.00 | — |
| Hemet Global Medical Center Hemet, CA · (951) 652-2811 MRI LUMBAR W/O CONTRAST File of Jun 15, 2026 · source file | $4,316.00 | $4,316.00 | $219.48–$4,316.00 | — |
| Loma Linda University Medical Center Loma Linda, CA · (909) 558-4000 HC MRI LUMBAR SPINE WO CONTR File of Sep 2, 2026 · source file | $4,753.35 | $10,563.00 | $306.88–$9,506.70 | 55% |
| Barstow Community Hospital Barstow, CA · (760) 256-1761 MRI scan of lower spinal canal without contrast File of Sep 17, 2026 · source file | $6,872.24 | $11,453.73 | $390.06–$9,162.98 | 40% |
| Riverside University Medical Center Moreno Valley, CA · (951) 486-4000 HC MRI Lumbar Spine WO Contr+1 more line at this price File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $10,243.33 | $10,243.33 | $126.48–$10,243.33 | — |
| Riverside Community Hospital Riverside, CA · (951) 788-3000 MRI L-SPINE W/O CONT+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $13,281.00 | $13,281.00 | $1,992.15–$11,952.90 | — |
Outpatient: lowest $305.00, median $2,496.00, highest $13,281.00 — a 43.5× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 15 facilities here, median $2,665.50. 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 11 of 21 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.
1 row held back from this comparison
It is priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 72148 ($2,013.08). Such a line is almost always a physician's fee billed separately, an assistant's share or a placeholder — a real charge, but not the price of the procedure itself.
| Hospital | Cash price | File |
|---|---|---|
| Eisenhower Medical Center Rancho Mirage, CAHC MRI Lumbar Spine W/O Contrast | $151.91 | file |