Lower back MRI with contrast cost in Bozeman, MT
In Bozeman, MT, 2 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the lower back, without and then with contrast dye: from $3,012.80 to $5,422.40, with a median of $4,217.60. The lowest listed price is at Deaconess Regional Medical Center — $1,204.80 less than the median here. Across Montana, the median is $2,787.34 at 8 hospitals.
Cash prices at 2 facilities across 2 cities for code 72158, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 22, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Nov 19, 2024 and Nov 19, 2024.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Bozeman, MT.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deaconess Regional Medical Center lowest Bozeman, MT · (406) 585-5000 HC MRI LUMBAR SPINE COMBO - MRI LUMBAR SPINE W WO CONTRAST | $3,012.80 | $3,766.00 | $321.49–$392.44 | 20% | Nov 19, 2024 source file |
| Big Sky Medical Center Big Sky, MT · (406) 995-6995 HC MRI LUMBAR SPINE COMBO - MRI LUMBAR SPINE W WO CONTRAST | $5,422.40 | $6,778.00 | $321.49–$392.44 | 20% | Nov 19, 2024 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $3,012.80, median $4,217.60, highest $5,422.40 — a 1.8× difference within the same market.
Cash or insurance?
At 0 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
This MRI of the lumbar spine takes one set of pictures without contrast dye and a second set after the dye is injected into a vein. The dye helps tell scar tissue from a new disc problem after back surgery and can show infection, inflammation or tumors.
What the price covers
The hospital price usually covers both sets of images; the contrast agent may appear as a separate line on some bills. The radiologist's reading is often billed separately.