Lower back MRI with contrast cost in Harrisburg, PA
In Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA, 5 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the lower back, without and then with contrast dye: from $426.68 to $2,713.80, with a median of $591.70. The lowest listed price is at Penn State Health Holy Spirit Medical Center — $165.02 less than the median here. Across Pennsylvania, the median is $2,915.10 at 64 hospitals.
Cash prices at 5 facilities across 5 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 — and —.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penn State Health Holy Spirit Medical Center lowest Camp Hill, PA · (717) 763-2100 72158 MRI LUMBAR SPINE W/O & W/DYE Tech | $426.68 | $1,786.00 | $289.82–$1,473.33 | 76% | — source file |
| Penn State Health Hampden Medical Center Enola, PA · (717) 981-9000 72158 MRI LUMBAR SPINE W/O & W/DYE Tech | $562.05 | $1,786.00 | $289.82–$1,457.31 | 69% | — source file |
| Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center Hershey, PA · (717) 531-8521 MRI Spine Lumbar w/ + w/o Contrast - Report | $591.70 | $1,786.00 | $314.51–$1,989.80 | 67% | — source file |
| UPMC Pinnacle Hospitals Harrisburg, PA · (717) 782-3131 HC MRI Lumbar W/Wo Contrast | $2,713.80 | $4,523.00 | $347.79–$5,287.54 | 40% | — source file |
| UPMC Carlisle Carlisle, PA · (717) 249-1212 HC MRI Lumbar W/Wo Contrast | $2,713.80 | $4,523.00 | $338.22–$3,844.55 | 40% | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $426.68, median $591.70, highest $2,713.80 — a 6.4× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 5 facilities here, median $591.70. 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 5 of 5 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.