Lower back MRI with contrast cost in Tallahassee, FL
In Tallahassee, FL, 2 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the lower back, without and then with contrast dye: from $1,082.20 to $5,273.65, with a median of $3,177.93. The lowest listed price is at Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare — $2,095.73 less than the median here. Across Florida, the median is $6,441.20 at 148 hospitals.
Cash prices at 2 facilities for code 72158, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Sep 1, 2026 and Sep 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 Tallahassee, FL.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare lowest Tallahassee, FL · (850) 431-1155 HC MRI, LUMBAR SPINE COMBO - MRI LUMBAR SPINE W WO CONTRAST | $1,082.20 | $1,546.00 | — | 30% | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
| HCA Florida Capital Hospital Tallahassee, FL · (850) 656-5000 Magnetic resonance (eg, proton) imaging, spinal canal and contents, without contrast material, followed by contrast material(s) and further sequences; lumbar | $5,273.65 | $5,273.65 | $828.27–$3,623.00 | — | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
| HCA Florida Capital Hospital Tallahassee, FL · (850) 656-5000 Magnetic resonance (eg, proton) imaging, spinal canal and contents, without contrast material, followed by contrast material(s) and further sequences; lumbar UNSCHEDULED | $5,273.65 | $5,273.65 | $3,208.68–$3,377.56 | — | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
| HCA Florida Capital Hospital Tallahassee, FL · (850) 656-5000 MRI L-SPINE W&W/O CONT | $5,273.65 | $5,273.65 | $812.14–$5,273.65 | — | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $1,082.20, median $3,177.93, highest $5,273.65 — a 4.9× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 1 facility here, median $1,082.20. 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 the one hospital here that publishes insurer rates for this code, the cash price is not below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated. 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.