Scans and imaging CPT 72158 Inpatient — admitted to hospital

Lower back MRI with contrast cost in New Orleans, LA — inpatient

In New Orleans-Metairie, LA, 5 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the lower back, without and then with contrast dye as an inpatient: from $675.84 to $1,404.52, with a median of $1,043.90. The lowest listed price is at St Bernard Parish Hospital — $368.06 less than the median here. Across Louisiana, the median is $1,363.19 at 54 hospitals.

Cash prices at 5 facilities across 5 cities for code 72158, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Apr 1, 2026 and Sep 16, 2026.

Lowest$675.84St Bernard Parish Hospital

Median$1,043.90half of hospitals charge less

Highest$1,404.52in this market

Difference2.1×highest vs lowest

Where each hospital's price falls

Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in New Orleans-Metairie, LA.

median

Lowest $675.84Highest $1,404.52

Hospitals, cheapest first

Hospital	Cash price	List price	Insurers pay	Off list
St Bernard Parish Hospital lowest Chalmette, LA · (504) 826-9500 HC MRI SPINE LUMBAR W/WO CONTRA File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file	$675.84	$2,112.00	—	68%
Ochsner Medical Center – Kenner Kenner, LA · (504) 464-8065 HC MRI SPINE LUMBAR W/WO CONTRA File of Sep 16, 2026 · source file	$784.28	$2,801.00	—	72%
Ochsner Clinic Foundation New Orleans, LA · (504) 842-3000 HC MRI SPINE LUMBAR W/WO CONTRA File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file	$1,043.90	$4,745.00	—	78%
St Charles Parish Hospital Luling, LA · (985) 785-3644 HC MRI SPINE LUMBAR W/WO CONTRA File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file	$1,234.98	$4,574.00	—	73%
The Ochsner West Campus Extended Care Hospital Jefferson, LA HC MRI SPINE LUMBAR W/WO CONTRA File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file	$1,404.52	$3,796.00	—	63%

Hospital The hospital that published the price, its city and the line exactly as written in its price file.

Cash price The hospital's own price for a patient paying without insurance (“discounted cash” in its price file). Hospitals must publish it under federal law, 45 CFR 180.50. Call to confirm it before booking. More

List price The hospital's full chargemaster price (“gross charge”) before any discount. Almost nobody pays it; the gap to the cash price shows what the self-pay discount is worth. More

Insurers pay The lowest and highest rates this hospital has agreed with insurance plans for the same item, from its price file. If the cash price is below what your plan pays and you have not met your deductible, paying cash can cost you less. More

Off list How much lower the cash price is than the list price.

Inpatient: lowest $675.84, median $1,043.90, highest $1,404.52 — a 2.1× difference within the same market.

As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 13 facilities here, median $1,145.20 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.

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.