Scans and imaging CPT 74181 Inpatient — admitted to hospital

Abdominal MRI cost in New Orleans, LA — inpatient

In New Orleans-Metairie, LA, 4 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the abdomen without contrast as an inpatient: from $504.00 to $2,038.20, with a median of $670.32. The lowest listed price is at Ochsner Medical Center – Kenner — $166.32 less than the median here. Across Louisiana, the median is $986.48 at 51 hospitals.

Cash prices at 4 facilities across 4 cities for code 74181, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between — and —.

Lowest$504.00Ochsner Medical Center – Kenner
Median$670.32half pay less
Highest$2,038.20in this market
Difference4.0×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 $504.00Highest $2,038.20

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash price List priceInsurers payOff listFile date
Ochsner Medical Center – Kenner lowest Kenner, LA · (504) 464-8065 HC MRI ABDOMEN W/O CONTRAST $504.00 $1,800.00 — 72% —
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St Bernard Parish Hospital Chalmette, LA · (504) 826-9500 HC MRI ABDOMEN W/O CONTRAST $613.76 $1,918.00 — 68% —
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Ochsner Clinic Foundation New Orleans, LA · (504) 842-3000 HC MRI ABDOMEN W/O CONTRAST $726.88 $3,304.00 — 78% —
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St Charles Parish Hospital Luling, LA · (985) 785-3644 MRI ABDOMEN W/O $2,038.20 $3,397.00 $1,912.51–$3,397.00 40% —
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Inpatient: lowest $504.00, median $670.32, highest $2,038.20 — a 4.0× difference within the same market.

As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 13 facilities here, median $725.85 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.

Cash or insurance?

At the one hospital here that publishes insurer rates for this code, the cash price is 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

An abdominal MRI without contrast images the liver, pancreas, kidneys and bile ducts. It is used, for example, to look at bile ducts (MRCP) or liver fat, without radiation.

What the price covers

The price usually covers the scan. The radiologist's reading may be billed separately.