Summary

7 facilities within 25 miles of Roanoke publish prices for MRI Brain without Contrast. Cash prices range from $1,570 to $11,774 — a 7.5x difference for an identical procedure. The Virginia average is $2,742.

Choosing the lowest-priced facility over the highest saves $10,203. The lowest-priced facility (Carilion Giles Community Hospital) has a 4-star CMS quality rating — lower price does not mean lower quality.

$1,570 lowest
$11,774 highest
Best Value

Carilion Giles Community Hospital

Pearisburg, VA · Carilion Clinic · 0.1 mi

$1,570 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 $1,570 is below the statewide average of $2,742.

All facilities ranked by price

1
Carilion Giles Community Hospital 4★ · 0.1 mi · Nonprofit
$1,570
2
Carilion Stonewall Jackson Hospital 3★ · 0.1 mi · Nonprofit
$1,570
3
Sentara Halifax Regional Hospital 3★ · 0.1 mi · Nonprofit
$1,813
4
Carilion New River Valley Medical Center 4★ · 0.1 mi · Nonprofit
$2,044
5
Carilion Medical Center 4★ · 0.0 mi · Nonprofit
$2,044
6
Sovah Health Danville 2★ · 0.1 mi · For-profit
$2,459
7
Lewisgale Medical Center 2★ · 0.1 mi · For-profit
$11,774
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 $1,570 $2,617 1.67x 4/5 83.0% Nonprofit
2 Carilion Stonewall Jackson Hospital Carilion Clinic Lexington, VA · 0.1 mi $1,570 $2,617 1.67x 3/5 75.0% Nonprofit
3 Sentara Halifax Regional Hospital Sentara Health South Boston, VA · 0.1 mi $1,813 $3,626 2.0x 3/5 71.0% Nonprofit
4 Carilion New River Valley Medical Center Carilion Clinic Christiansburg, VA · 0.1 mi $2,044 $3,407 1.67x 4/5 69.0% Nonprofit
5 Carilion Medical Center Carilion Clinic Roanoke, VA · 0.0 mi $2,044 $3,407 1.67x 4/5 66.0% Nonprofit
6 Sovah Health Danville Danville, VA · 0.1 mi $2,459 $6,148 2.5x 2/5 59.0% For-profit
7 Lewisgale Medical Center HCA Virginia Salem, VA · 0.1 mi $11,774 $11,774 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 without Contrast. Your actual out-of-pocket cost depends on your deductible status and copay structure.

Carilion Giles Community Hospital

Cash: $1,570
Insurance Plan Negotiated Rate vs Cash
Anthem Managed Medicaid $181 -$1,390
Sentara Health Plan Managed Medicaid $184 -$1,386
ABH of VA (formerly Coventry) Managed Medicaid $189 -$1,381
UnitedHealthcare Managed Medicaid $189 -$1,381
Humana Managed Medicaid $189 -$1,381
Aetna Medicare Advantage $204 -$1,366
Humana Dual Eligible $213 -$1,357
Humana Tricare $214 -$1,356
Humana Medicare Advantage $222 -$1,348
UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage $222 -$1,348
Anthem Medicare Advantage $224 -$1,346
Sentara Health Plan Medicare Advantage $228 -$1,342
Anthem Exchange $1,114 -$456
Anthem Commercial $1,238 -$332

15 additional plans not shown.

Carilion Stonewall Jackson Hospital

Cash: $1,570
Insurance Plan Negotiated Rate vs Cash
Medicaid Traditional Medicaid $179 -$1,391
Virginia Premier - CCC Plus CCC Plus $179 -$1,391
Virginia Premier Managed Medicaid $184 -$1,387
HealthKeepers Plus Managed Medicaid $188 -$1,382
Aetna Managed Medicaid $197 -$1,373
Community Plan Managed Medicaid $197 -$1,373
Intotal Health Managed Medicaid $197 -$1,373
Magellan Complete Care Managed Medicaid $197 -$1,373
Magellan Complete Care MLTSS/CCC+ $197 -$1,373
Medicaid Managed Medicaid $197 -$1,373
Humana Dual Eligible $226 -$1,345
Humana Medicare Advantage $230 -$1,340
Medicare Traditional Medicare $230 -$1,340
Anthem Medicare Advantage $242 -$1,329

21 additional plans not shown.

Sentara Halifax Regional Hospital

Cash: $1,813
Insurance Plan Negotiated Rate vs Cash
Sentara Health Plan Medicare Managed Care Plan $239 -$1,574
Humana Medicare Managed Care Plan $242 -$1,571
Anthem Anthem Medicare Managed Care Plan $246 -$1,567
UnitedHealthcare Snp Medicare Managed Care Plan $246 -$1,567
UnitedHealthcare All Commercial Plans $558 -$1,255
Anthem Anthem Exchange $752 -$1,061
Anthem Anthem Hmo $809 -$1,004
Anthem Anthem Ppo $834 -$979

Carilion New River Valley Medical Center

Cash: $2,044
Insurance Plan Negotiated Rate vs Cash
Anthem Managed Medicaid $181 -$1,864
Sentara Health Plan Managed Medicaid $184 -$1,860
ABH of VA (formerly Coventry) Managed Medicaid $189 -$1,855
Humana Managed Medicaid $189 -$1,855
UnitedHealthcare Managed Medicaid $189 -$1,855
Humana Dual Eligible $213 -$1,831
Humana Tricare $214 -$1,830
Humana Medicare Advantage $222 -$1,822
UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage $222 -$1,822
Aetna Medicare Advantage $224 -$1,820
Anthem Medicare Advantage $224 -$1,820
Sentara Health Plan Medicare Advantage $228 -$1,816
Anthem Exchange $920 -$1,124
Anthem Commercial $1,022 -$1,022

15 additional plans not shown.

Carilion Medical Center

Cash: $2,044
Insurance Plan Negotiated Rate vs Cash
Anthem Managed Medicaid $181 -$1,864
Sentara Health Plan Managed Medicaid $184 -$1,860
Humana Managed Medicaid $189 -$1,855
ABH of VA (formerly Coventry) Managed Medicaid $189 -$1,855
UnitedHealthcare Managed Medicaid $189 -$1,855
Humana Dual Eligible $213 -$1,831
Humana Tricare $214 -$1,830
Humana Medicare Advantage $222 -$1,822
UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage $222 -$1,822
Aetna Medicare Advantage $224 -$1,820
Anthem Medicare Advantage $224 -$1,820
Sentara Health Plan Medicare Advantage $228 -$1,816
Anthem Exchange $1,059 -$985
Anthem Commercial $1,177 -$867

15 additional plans not shown.

Lewisgale Medical Center

Cash: $11,774
Insurance Plan Negotiated Rate vs Cash
UnitedHealthcare AllPayerAppendix $518 -$11,256
Anthem HIX $689 -$11,085
Anthem HMO $765 -$11,009
Anthem PPO $765 -$11,009
Lifeworks MCR $2,237 -$9,537
Universal Healthcare Group MCR $2,590 -$9,184
Aetna SharedSavings $2,994 -$8,780
Virginia Health Network ULTRA $4,121 -$7,653
UnitedHealthcare OptionsPPO $4,474 -$7,300
UnitedHealthcare GlobalBenefitPlan $5,298 -$6,476
Aetna Broad $6,358 -$5,416
Greenvbrier Sporting Club COMM $7,064 -$4,710
Virginia Health Network COMM $8,360 -$3,414
Virginia Health Network WC $8,360 -$3,414
CorVel WorkersComp $8,477 -$3,297

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 without Contrast (CPT 70551). 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.