Lower back MRI with contrast cost in Eureka, CA
In Eureka-Arcata, CA, 2 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the lower back, without and then with contrast dye: from $3,894.36 to $4,969.95, with a median of $4,432.16. The lowest listed price is at Providence Redwood Memorial Hospital — $537.80 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $3,783.24 at 100 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 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 Eureka-Arcata, CA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Providence Redwood Memorial Hospital lowest Fortuna, CA · (707) 445-8121 HC MRI LUMBAR SPINE W/O & W/DYE | $3,894.36 | $7,636.00 | — | 49% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka, CA · (707) 445-8121 HC MRI LUMBAR SPINE W/O & W/DYE | $4,969.95 | $9,745.00 | — | 49% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka, CA · (707) 445-8121 HC MRI LUMBAR SPINE W/O & W/DYE | $7,859.10 | $15,410.00 | — | 49% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $3,894.36, median $4,432.16, highest $4,969.95 — a 1.3× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 2 facilities here, median $5,876.73. 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.