Summary

7 facilities within 25 miles of Roanoke publish prices for MRI Brain with Contrast. Cash prices range from $1,998 to $13,740 — a 6.9x difference for an identical procedure. The Virginia average is $3,067.

Choosing the lowest-priced facility over the highest saves $11,742. The lowest-priced facility (Carilion Giles Community Hospital) has a 4-star CMS quality rating — lower price does not mean lower quality.

$1,998 lowest
$13,740 highest
Best Value

Carilion Giles Community Hospital

Pearisburg, VA · Carilion Clinic · 0.1 mi

$1,998 Cash price
4/5 CMS rating
83.0% Patient satisfaction

Lowest price among hospitals rated 4 stars or above. Patient satisfaction: 83%. Cash price of $1,998 is below the statewide average of $3,067.

All facilities ranked by price

1
Carilion Giles Community Hospital 4★ · 0.1 mi · Nonprofit
$1,998
2
Carilion Stonewall Jackson Hospital 3★ · 0.1 mi · Nonprofit
$1,998
3
Sentara Halifax Regional Hospital 3★ · 0.1 mi · Nonprofit
$2,286
4
Carilion New River Valley Medical Center 4★ · 0.1 mi · Nonprofit
$2,352
5
Carilion Medical Center 4★ · 0.0 mi · Nonprofit
$2,352
6
Sovah Health Danville 2★ · 0.1 mi · For-profit
$3,220
7
Lewisgale Medical Center 2★ · 0.1 mi · For-profit
$13,740
Complete facility data
# Facility Cash Price Gross Charge Markup CMS Stars Patient Rating Ownership
1 Carilion Giles Community Hospital Carilion Clinic Pearisburg, VA · 0.1 mi $1,998 $3,330 1.67x 4/5 83.0% Nonprofit
2 Carilion Stonewall Jackson Hospital Carilion Clinic Lexington, VA · 0.1 mi $1,998 $3,330 1.67x 3/5 75.0% Nonprofit
3 Sentara Halifax Regional Hospital Sentara Health South Boston, VA · 0.1 mi $2,286 $4,573 2.0x 3/5 71.0% Nonprofit
4 Carilion New River Valley Medical Center Carilion Clinic Christiansburg, VA · 0.1 mi $2,352 $3,920 1.67x 4/5 69.0% Nonprofit
5 Carilion Medical Center Carilion Clinic Roanoke, VA · 0.0 mi $2,352 $3,920 1.67x 4/5 66.0% Nonprofit
6 Sovah Health Danville Danville, VA · 0.1 mi $3,220 $8,049 2.5x 2/5 59.0% For-profit
7 Lewisgale Medical Center HCA Virginia Salem, VA · 0.1 mi $13,740 $13,740 1.0x 2/5 57.0% For-profit

Insurance negotiated rates by facility

The rates below are what each insurer has contractually agreed to pay this hospital for MRI Brain with Contrast. Your actual out-of-pocket cost depends on your deductible status and copay structure.

Carilion Giles Community Hospital

Cash: $1,998
Insurance Plan Negotiated Rate vs Cash
Anthem Managed Medicaid $249 -$1,749
Sentara Health Plan Managed Medicaid $254 -$1,744
UnitedHealthcare Managed Medicaid $261 -$1,737
Humana Managed Medicaid $261 -$1,737
ABH of VA (formerly Coventry) Managed Medicaid $261 -$1,737
Aetna Medicare Advantage $302 -$1,696
Humana Dual Eligible $315 -$1,683
UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage $328 -$1,670
Humana Medicare Advantage $328 -$1,670
Anthem Medicare Advantage $331 -$1,667
Sentara Health Plan Medicare Advantage $337 -$1,661
Humana Tricare $355 -$1,643
Aetna Exchange $1,598 -$400
Anthem Exchange $1,646 -$352

15 additional plans not shown.

Carilion Stonewall Jackson Hospital

Cash: $1,998
Insurance Plan Negotiated Rate vs Cash
Medicaid Traditional Medicaid $249 -$1,749
Virginia Premier - CCC Plus CCC Plus $249 -$1,749
Virginia Premier Managed Medicaid $256 -$1,742
HealthKeepers Plus Managed Medicaid $262 -$1,736
Aetna Managed Medicaid $274 -$1,724
Community Plan Managed Medicaid $274 -$1,724
Intotal Health Managed Medicaid $274 -$1,724
Magellan Complete Care Managed Medicaid $274 -$1,724
Magellan Complete Care MLTSS/CCC+ $274 -$1,724
Medicaid Managed Medicaid $274 -$1,724
Humana Dual Eligible $361 -$1,637
Humana Medicare Advantage $368 -$1,630
Medicare Traditional Medicare $368 -$1,630
Anthem Medicare Advantage $387 -$1,611

21 additional plans not shown.

Sentara Halifax Regional Hospital

Cash: $2,286
Insurance Plan Negotiated Rate vs Cash
Sentara Health Plan Medicare Managed Care Plan $350 -$1,937
Humana Medicare Managed Care Plan $353 -$1,933
Anthem Anthem Medicare Managed Care Plan $359 -$1,927
UnitedHealthcare Snp Medicare Managed Care Plan $360 -$1,926
UnitedHealthcare All Commercial Plans $602 -$1,684
Anthem Anthem Exchange $1,100 -$1,187
Anthem Anthem Hmo $1,182 -$1,104
Anthem Anthem Ppo $1,219 -$1,068

Carilion New River Valley Medical Center

Cash: $2,352
Insurance Plan Negotiated Rate vs Cash
Anthem Managed Medicaid $249 -$2,103
Sentara Health Plan Managed Medicaid $254 -$2,098
ABH of VA (formerly Coventry) Managed Medicaid $261 -$2,091
Humana Managed Medicaid $261 -$2,091
UnitedHealthcare Managed Medicaid $261 -$2,091
Aetna Medicare Advantage $302 -$2,050
Humana Dual Eligible $315 -$2,037
Humana Medicare Advantage $328 -$2,024
UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage $328 -$2,024
Anthem Medicare Advantage $331 -$2,021
Sentara Health Plan Medicare Advantage $337 -$2,015
Humana Tricare $355 -$1,997
Anthem Exchange $1,359 -$993
Anthem Commercial $1,510 -$842

15 additional plans not shown.

Carilion Medical Center

Cash: $2,352
Insurance Plan Negotiated Rate vs Cash
Anthem Managed Medicaid $249 -$2,103
Sentara Health Plan Managed Medicaid $254 -$2,098
ABH of VA (formerly Coventry) Managed Medicaid $261 -$2,091
Humana Managed Medicaid $261 -$2,091
UnitedHealthcare Managed Medicaid $261 -$2,091
Aetna Medicare Advantage $302 -$2,050
Humana Dual Eligible $315 -$2,037
Humana Medicare Advantage $328 -$2,024
UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage $328 -$2,024
Anthem Medicare Advantage $331 -$2,021
Sentara Health Plan Medicare Advantage $337 -$2,015
Humana Tricare $355 -$1,997
Anthem Exchange $1,565 -$787
Anthem Commercial $1,739 -$613

15 additional plans not shown.

Lewisgale Medical Center

Cash: $13,740
Insurance Plan Negotiated Rate vs Cash
Anthem HIX $423 -$13,317
Anthem HMO $470 -$13,270
Anthem PPO $470 -$13,270
UnitedHealthcare AllPayerAppendix $828 -$12,912
Lifeworks MCR $2,611 -$11,129
Aetna SharedSavings $2,994 -$10,746
Universal Healthcare Group MCR $3,023 -$10,717
Virginia Health Network ULTRA $4,809 -$8,931
UnitedHealthcare OptionsPPO $5,221 -$8,519
UnitedHealthcare GlobalBenefitPlan $6,183 -$7,557
Aetna Broad $7,420 -$6,320
Greenvbrier Sporting Club COMM $8,244 -$5,496
Virginia Health Network COMM $9,755 -$3,985
Virginia Health Network WC $9,755 -$3,985
CorVel WorkersComp $9,893 -$3,847

11 additional plans not shown.

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 Brain with Contrast (CPT 70552). 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
Carilion Giles Community Hospital Nonprofit Call billing, request Financial Assistance application
Carilion Stonewall Jackson Hospital Nonprofit Call billing, request Financial Assistance application
Sentara Halifax Regional Hospital Nonprofit Call billing, request Financial Assistance application
Carilion New River Valley Medical Center Nonprofit Call billing, request Financial Assistance application
Carilion Medical Center Nonprofit Call billing, request Financial Assistance application
Sovah Health Danville For-profit N/A (for-profit)
Lewisgale Medical Center For-profit N/A (for-profit)

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.