Lower back MRI with contrast cost in Massena, NY
In Massena-Ogdensburg, NY, 3 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the lower back, without and then with contrast dye: from $3,176.26 to $4,077.13, with a median of $3,681.82. The lowest listed price is at Slhs Massena — $505.56 less than the median here. Across New York, the median is $1,557.00 at 61 hospitals.
Cash prices at 3 facilities across 3 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 Massena-Ogdensburg, NY.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slhs Massena lowest Massena, NY · (315) 769-4234 HC MRI SPINE LUMBAR WO _ W CONTRAST | $3,176.26 | $4,886.56 | — | 35% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Canton-Potsdam Hospital Potsdam, NY · (315) 265-3300 HC MRI SPINE LUMBAR WO _ W CONTRAST | $3,681.82 | $5,664.34 | — | 35% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Gouverneur Hospital Gouverneur, NY · (315) 287-1000 HC MRI SPINE LUMBAR WO _ W CONTRAST | $4,077.13 | $6,272.51 | — | 35% | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $3,176.26, median $3,681.82, highest $4,077.13 — a 1.3× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 3 facilities here, median $3,681.82. 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.