Lower back MRI with contrast cost in California

In California, 210 hospitals publish a cash price for MRI of the lower back, without and then with contrast dye: from $356.00 to $29,304.77, with a median of $4,517.08. The lowest price is at County of Monterey (Salinas). The highest price is 82.3× the lowest.

• The median here, $4,517.08, is 64% above the US median of $2,750.28.
• That is 12.7× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($356.43).
• California ranks 48th of 51 states by median, cheapest first.
• 60 of 210 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.

California law (Health and Safety Code §127405): if you are uninsured or have high medical costs and your family income is at or below 400% of the federal poverty level, a hospital may not expect you to pay more than it would expect from Medicare or Medi-Cal, whichever is greater. That can be less than the cash prices below; ask the hospital for its discount payment policy. A separate physician fee may still apply. Other states' laws.

Outpatient cash prices, one line per hospital — its lowest listed price for code 72158. Prices for both sides of the body and inpatient prices are not mixed in. Collected Nov 8, 2026. See them on a map