Lower back MRI with contrast cost in Dayton, OH
In Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH, 8 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the lower back, without and then with contrast dye: from $1,496.00 to $8,614.20, with a median of $1,496.00. The lowest listed price is at Dayton Osteopathic Hospital and 5 other hospitals. Across Ohio, the median is $2,123.55 at 87 hospitals.
Cash prices at 8 facilities across 6 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 Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dayton Osteopathic Hospital lowest Dayton, OH · (937) 723-3410 Hc Mri Lumbar Spine W/Wo Contrast | $1,496.00 | $3,740.00 | — | 60% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Kettering Medical Center lowest Miamisburg, OH · (937) 384-8760 Hc Mri Lumbar Spine W/Wo Contrast | $1,496.00 | $3,740.00 | — | 60% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Kettering Medical Center lowest Kettering, OH · (937) 298-4331 Hc Mri Lumbar Spine W/Wo Contrast | $1,496.00 | $3,740.00 | — | 60% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Greene Memorial Hospital lowest Xenia, OH · (937) 352-2000 Hc Mri Lumbar Spine W/Wo Contrast | $1,496.00 | $3,740.00 | — | 60% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Beavercreek Medical Center lowest Beaver Creek, OH · (937) 702-4000 Hc Mri Lumbar Spine W/Wo Contrast | $1,496.00 | $3,740.00 | — | 60% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Kettering Medical Center lowest Troy, OH · (937) 980-7000 Hc Mri Lumbar Spine W/Wo Contrast | $1,496.00 | $3,740.00 | — | 60% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Dayton Childrens Hospital Dayton, OH · (937) 641-5509 MRI LUMBAR SPINE W/O & W/DYE | $2,919.70 | $4,171.00 | $340.23–$510.35 | 30% | — source file |
| Dayton Childrens Hospital Dayton, OH · (937) 641-5509 MRI SCAN OF LOWER SPINAL CANAL BEFORE AND AFTER CONTRAST | $4,125.97 | $5,894.24 | $340.23–$510.35 | 30% | — source file |
| Shriners Childrens Ohio Dayton, OH · (937) 641-5509 MRI LUMBAR SPINE W/O & W/DYE | $8,614.20 | $8,614.20 | $269.47–$714.26 | — | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $1,496.00, median $1,496.00, highest $8,614.20 — a 5.8× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 6 facilities here, median $1,496.00. 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 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.