Lower back MRI with contrast cost in Columbia, SC
In Columbia, SC, 3 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the lower back, without and then with contrast dye: from $1,525.00 to $2,561.50, with a median of $1,525.00. The lowest listed price is at MUSC Health Columbia Medical Center Northeast and 1 other hospital. Across South Carolina, the median is $2,265.90 at 19 hospitals.
Cash prices at 3 facilities across 2 cities for code 72158, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Apr 1, 2026 and Apr 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 Columbia, SC.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MUSC Health Columbia Medical Center Northeast lowest Columbia, SC HB MRI L-SPINE W/WO CONTRAST | $1,525.00 | $3,050.00 | — | 50% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Musc Health Columbia Medical Center Downtown lowest Columbia, SC · (803) 256-5300 HB MRI L-SPINE W/WO CONTRAST | $1,525.00 | $3,050.00 | — | 50% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Kershaw Medical Center Camden, SC · (803) 432-4311 HB MRI L-SPINE W/WO CONTRAST | $2,561.50 | $5,123.00 | — | 50% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $1,525.00, median $1,525.00, highest $2,561.50 — a 1.7× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 3 facilities here, median $1,525.00. Inpatient and outpatient prices are not comparable and are kept on separate pages: the inpatient charge covers admission, not the same purchase.
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.