Scans and imaging CPT 77049 Inpatient — admitted to hospital

Breast MRI, both breasts cost in New Orleans, LA — inpatient

In New Orleans-Metairie, LA, 3 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of both breasts, without and then with contrast dye (both sides) as an inpatient: from $580.44 to $833.60, with a median of $656.70. The lowest listed price is at Ochsner Medical Center – Kenner — $76.26 less than the median here. Across Louisiana, the median is $711.45 at 2 hospitals.

Cash prices at 3 facilities across 3 cities for code 77049, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between — and —.

Lowest$580.44Ochsner Medical Center – Kenner

Median$656.70half of hospitals charge less

Highest$833.60in this market

Difference1.4×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 $580.44Highest $833.60

Hospitals, cheapest first

Hospital	Cash price	List price	Insurers pay	Off list
Ochsner Medical Center – Kenner both sides lowest Kenner, LA · (504) 464-8065 HC MRI, BREAST, CAD, W&W/O CONTRAST, BILATERAL source file	$580.44	$2,073.00	—	72%
Ochsner Clinic Foundation both sides New Orleans, LA · (504) 842-3000 HC MRI, BREAST, CAD, W&W/O CONTRAST, BILATERAL source file	$656.70	$2,985.00	—	78%
St Bernard Parish Hospital both sides Chalmette, LA · (504) 826-9500 HC MRI, BREAST, CAD, W&W/O CONTRAST, BILATERAL source file	$833.60	$2,605.00	—	68%

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.

Both sides : lowest $580.44, median $656.70, highest $833.60 — a 1.4× difference within the same market.

As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 11 facilities here, median $711.76 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.

What it is

A breast MRI takes pictures of both breasts before and after contrast dye is injected into a vein, and the code includes computer-aided analysis of the images. It is used to screen women at high risk of breast cancer and to check the extent of a cancer that has already been found.

What the price covers

The hospital price usually covers the imaging of both breasts and the computer analysis; the contrast agent may appear as a separate line. The radiologist's reading is often billed separately.