Summary

12 facilities within 25 miles of Richmond publish prices for MRI Lumbar Spine with and without Contrast. Cash prices range from $2,319 to $12,325 — a 5.3x difference for an identical procedure. The Virginia average is $3,809.

$2,319 lowest
$12,325 highest
Best Value

Bon Secours Memorial Regional Medical Center

Mechanicsville, VA · Bon Secours Mercy Health · 0.2 mi

$3,340 Cash price
4/5 CMS rating
65.0% Patient satisfaction

Lowest price among hospitals rated 4 stars or above. Patient satisfaction: 65%. Cash price of $3,340 is below the statewide average of $3,809.

All facilities ranked by price

1
Bon Secours St Marys Hospital 3★ · 0.0 mi · Nonprofit
$2,267
2
Bon Secours Richmond Community Hospital · 0.0 mi · Nonprofit
$2,267
3
Stafford Hospital, LLC 3★ · 0.2 mi · Nonprofit
$2,319
4
Mary Washington Hospital 2★ · 0.2 mi · Nonprofit
$2,319
5
Bon Secours Memorial Regional Medical Center 4★ · 0.2 mi · Nonprofit
$3,340
6
Bon Secours St Francis Medical Center 3★ · 0.2 mi · Nonprofit
$3,340
7
Henrico Doctors' Hospital 3★ · 0.0 mi · Nonprofit
$7,981
8
CJW Medical Center 4★ · 0.0 mi · For-profit
$8,058
9
Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center 3★ · 0.2 mi · For-profit
$12,325
Complete facility data
# Facility Cash Price Gross Charge Markup CMS Stars Patient Rating Ownership
1 Bon Secours St Marys Hospital Bon Secours Mercy Health Richmond, VA · 0.0 mi $2,267 $3,779 1.67x 3/5 66.0% Nonprofit
2 Bon Secours Richmond Community Hospital Bon Secours Mercy Health Richmond, VA · 0.0 mi $2,267 $3,779 1.67x 68.0% Nonprofit
3 Stafford Hospital, LLC Stafford, VA · 0.2 mi $2,319 $4,638 2.0x 3/5 70.0% Nonprofit
4 Mary Washington Hospital Mary Washington Healthcare Fredericksburg, VA · 0.2 mi $2,319 $4,638 2.0x 2/5 61.0% Nonprofit
5 Bon Secours Memorial Regional Medical Center Bon Secours Mercy Health Mechanicsville, VA · 0.2 mi $3,340 $5,567 1.67x 4/5 65.0% Nonprofit
6 Bon Secours St Francis Medical Center Bon Secours Mercy Health Midlothian, VA · 0.2 mi $3,340 $5,567 1.67x 3/5 71.0% Nonprofit
7 Henrico Doctors' Hospital HCA Virginia Richmond, VA · 0.0 mi $7,981 $7,981 1.0x 3/5 69.0% Nonprofit
8 CJW Medical Center Richmond, VA · 0.0 mi $8,058 $8,058 1.0x 4/5 64.0% For-profit
9 Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center HCA Virginia Fredericksburg, VA · 0.2 mi $12,325 $12,325 1.0x 3/5 61.0% For-profit
10 Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center Sentara Health Williamsburg, VA · 0.2 mi 4/5 79.0% Nonprofit
11 Riverside Walter Reed Hospital Riverside Health System Gloucester, VA · 0.2 mi 4/5 77.0% Nonprofit
12 Riverside Doctors' Hospital of Williamsburg Riverside Health System Williamsburg, VA · 0.2 mi 4/5 76.0% Nonprofit

Insurance negotiated rates by facility

The rates below are what each insurer has contractually agreed to pay this hospital for MRI Lumbar Spine with and without Contrast. Your actual out-of-pocket cost depends on your deductible status and copay structure.

Henrico Doctors' Hospital

Cash: $7,981
Insurance Plan Negotiated Rate vs Cash
UnitedHealthcare AllPayerAppendix $828 -$7,153
UnitedHealthcare NavigateCorePayer $828 -$7,153
UnitedHealthcare NewBusiness $828 -$7,153
UnitedHealthcare SmallBusiness $828 -$7,153
Anthem HIX $1,046 -$6,935
Anthem HPN $1,328 -$6,653
Aetna SharedSavings $1,387 -$6,594
Anthem HMO $1,439 -$6,542
Anthem PPO $1,439 -$6,542
Lifeworks MCR $1,516 -$6,465
UnitedHealthcare OptionsPPO $1,660 -$6,321
Universal Healthcare Group MCR $1,756 -$6,225
Aetna Broad $1,866 -$6,115
Virginia Health Network ULTRA $2,793 -$5,188
UnitedHealthcare GlobalBenefitPlan $3,591 -$4,390

7 additional plans not shown.

CJW Medical Center

Cash: $8,058
Insurance Plan Negotiated Rate vs Cash
Anthem HIX $684 -$7,374
UnitedHealthcare AllPayerAppendix $828 -$7,230
UnitedHealthcare NavigateCorePayer $828 -$7,230
UnitedHealthcare NewBusiness $828 -$7,230
UnitedHealthcare SmallBusiness $828 -$7,230
Anthem HPN $868 -$7,190
Anthem HMO $941 -$7,117
Anthem PPO $941 -$7,117
Aetna SharedSavings $1,387 -$6,671
Lifeworks MCR $1,531 -$6,527
UnitedHealthcare OptionsPPO $1,676 -$6,382
Universal Healthcare Group MCR $1,773 -$6,285
Aetna Broad $1,866 -$6,192
Virginia Health Network ULTRA $2,820 -$5,238
UnitedHealthcare GlobalBenefitPlan $3,626 -$4,432

9 additional plans not shown.

Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center

Cash: $12,325
Insurance Plan Negotiated Rate vs Cash
Anthem HIX $572 -$11,752
Anthem HMO $787 -$11,537
Anthem HPN $787 -$11,537
Anthem PPO $787 -$11,537
UnitedHealthcare AllPayerAppendix $828 -$11,496
Aetna Broad $1,915 -$10,410
Lifeworks MCR $2,342 -$9,983
UnitedHealthcare OptionsPPO $3,451 -$8,874
Virginia Health Network ULTRA $4,314 -$8,011
UnitedHealthcare GlobalBenefitPlan $5,546 -$6,779
Kaiser Permanente COMM $7,272 -$5,053
Greenvbrier Sporting Club COMM $7,395 -$4,930
Virginia Health Network COMM $8,011 -$4,314
Virginia Health Network WC $8,011 -$4,314
Multiplan MPI $8,750 -$3,574

6 additional plans not shown.

Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center

Cash: N/A
Insurance Plan Negotiated Rate
Sentara Health Plan Medicare Managed Care Plan $347
Humana Medicare Managed Care Plan $351
Anthem Anthem Medicare Managed Care Plan $357
UnitedHealthcare Dsnp Medicare Managed Care Plan $357
Anthem Anthem Exchange $1,150
Anthem Anthem Hmo $1,229
Anthem Anthem Ppo $1,281
Sentara Health Plan Exchange $2,014
Sentara Health Plan Ppo $2,052
Sentara Health Plan Hmo/Pos $2,072

Riverside Walter Reed Hospital

Cash: N/A
Insurance Plan Negotiated Rate
Anthem PPO Products $104
Anthem HMO Products $104
Aetna All Commerical Products $1,389

Riverside Doctors' Hospital of Williamsburg

Cash: N/A
Insurance Plan Negotiated Rate
Anthem PPO Products $104
Anthem HMO Products $104
Aetna All Commerical Products $1,389

Before you call

The data in this report is from each hospital's publicly filed prices. Here's how to use it.

Confirm the price

Call the hospital's billing department and ask for a price estimate or Good Faith Estimate for MRI Lumbar Spine with and without Contrast (CPT 72158). Under federal law, they must provide this. Compare it to the published price in this report.

Ask about cash pay

If you haven't met your deductible, ask for the cash/self-pay rate. At many hospitals, the cash price is lower than the insurance-negotiated rate. You can see this in the insurance table above — some negotiated rates exceed the cash price.

Compare before you schedule

You are not required to use the facility your doctor referred you to. You can request a referral to any in-network facility. The same procedure, same quality — sometimes at a fraction of the price.

Ask about financial help

Most nonprofit hospitals in Virginia offer financial assistance to patients based on household income. This is separate from insurance — even insured patients can qualify. Ask billing for their Financial Assistance Policy.

Financial assistance by facility

Nonprofit hospitals are legally required to have financial assistance programs. Below is what we know about each facility's charitable care.

Facility Status Charity Care Provided How to Apply
Bon Secours St Marys Hospital Nonprofit Call billing, request Financial Assistance application
Bon Secours Richmond Community Hospital Nonprofit Call billing, request Financial Assistance application
Stafford Hospital, LLC Nonprofit Call billing, request Financial Assistance application
Mary Washington Hospital Nonprofit Call billing, request Financial Assistance application
Bon Secours Memorial Regional Medical Center Nonprofit Call billing, request Financial Assistance application
Bon Secours St Francis Medical Center Nonprofit Call billing, request Financial Assistance application
Henrico Doctors' Hospital Nonprofit Call billing, request Financial Assistance application
CJW Medical Center For-profit N/A (for-profit)
Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center For-profit N/A (for-profit)
Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center Nonprofit Call billing, request Financial Assistance application
Riverside Walter Reed Hospital Nonprofit Call billing, request Financial Assistance application
Riverside Doctors' Hospital of Williamsburg Nonprofit Call billing, request Financial Assistance application

What to do next

  1. Identify your top 2-3 facilities based on price, quality rating, and distance. The data in this report shows that lower price does not mean lower quality — check the star ratings.
  2. Call billing before you schedule. Confirm the published price. Ask for a Good Faith Estimate. Ask whether there's a prompt-pay or cash-pay discount beyond the listed rate.
  3. Check your deductible status. If you haven't met your deductible, compare the cash rate to what you'd owe through insurance. In some cases, paying cash is cheaper than using your plan.
  4. Apply for financial assistance if your household income is under $60,000-$125,000 (thresholds vary). Most eligible patients never apply because they don't know the program exists.
  5. Get everything in writing. Before your procedure, get a written price estimate. After, review the bill line by line. Roughly 80% of hospital bills contain errors (Becker's Hospital Review).

Data sources

Hospital prices
Published machine-readable files, required under CMS Hospital Price Transparency Rule (45 CFR Part 180)
Quality ratings
CMS Hospital Compare, updated quarterly
Patient satisfaction
HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems)
Financial data
CMS Cost Reports (charity care, revenue) and IRS 990 filings (officer compensation)

This report is for informational purposes only. It is not medical advice. Every price shown is a price a hospital published — not an estimate. Actual out-of-pocket costs depend on your insurance plan, deductible status, and clinical circumstances. Consult your healthcare provider and insurer before making decisions.