Lower back MRI with contrast cost in Rochester, NY — inpatient
In Rochester, NY, 4 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the lower back, without and then with contrast dye as an inpatient: from $1,510.60 to $1,652.32, with a median of $1,648.98. The lowest listed price is at Clifton Springs Hospital And Clinic — $138.38 less than the median here. Across New York, the median is $1,557.00 at 61 hospitals.
Cash prices at 4 facilities across 3 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 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 Rochester, NY.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clifton Springs Hospital And Clinic lowest Clifton Springs, NY · (315) 462-9561 HC MRI SPINE LUMBAR WO _ W CONTRAST | $1,510.60 | $2,324.00 | — | 35% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Rochester General Hospital Rochester, NY · (585) 922-4000 HC MRI SPINE LUMBAR WO _ W CONTRAST | $1,648.98 | $2,536.89 | — | 35% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Newark-Wayne Community Hospital Newark, NY · (315) 332-2022 HC MRI SPINE LUMBAR WO _ W CONTRAST | $1,648.98 | $2,536.89 | — | 35% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| The Unity Hospital of Rochester Rochester, NY · (585) 723-7000 HC MRI SPINE LUMBAR WO _ W CONTRAST | $1,652.32 | $2,065.40 | — | 20% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
Inpatient: lowest $1,510.60, median $1,648.98, highest $1,652.32 — a 1.1× difference within the same market.
As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 8 facilities here, median $1,208.80 — 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.