Summary

7 facilities within 25 miles of Roanoke publish prices for MRI Lumbar Spine with and without Contrast. Cash prices range from $2,104 to $6,391 — a 3.0x difference for an identical procedure. The Virginia average is $3,489.

$2,104 lowest
$6,391 highest
Best Value

Carilion New River Valley Medical Center

Christiansburg, VA · Carilion Clinic · 0.1 mi

$2,104 Cash price
4/5 CMS rating
69.0% Patient satisfaction

Lowest price among hospitals rated 4 stars or above. Patient satisfaction: 69%. Cash price of $2,104 is below the statewide average of $3,489.

All facilities ranked by price

1
Carilion New River Valley Medical Center 4★ · 0.1 mi · Nonprofit
$2,104
2
Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital 4★ · 19.0 mi · Nonprofit
$2,104
3
Carilion Giles Community Hospital 4★ · 0.1 mi · Nonprofit
$2,250
4
Carilion Rockbridge Community Hospital 3★ · 0.1 mi · Nonprofit
$2,250
5
Sentara Halifax Regional Hospital 3★ · 0.1 mi · Nonprofit
$3,594
6
Sovah Health Danville 2★ · 0.1 mi · For-profit
$6,391
Complete facility data
# Facility Cash Price Gross Charge Markup CMS Stars Patient Rating Ownership
1 Carilion New River Valley Medical Center Carilion Clinic Christiansburg, VA · 0.1 mi $2,104 $6,010 2.86x 4/5 69.0% Nonprofit
2 Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital Carilion Clinic Rocky Mount, VA · 19.0 mi $2,104 $6,010 2.86x 4/5 Nonprofit
3 Carilion Giles Community Hospital Carilion Clinic Pearisburg, VA · 0.1 mi $2,250 $6,428 2.86x 4/5 83.0% Nonprofit
4 Carilion Rockbridge Community Hospital Carilion Clinic Lexington, VA · 0.1 mi $2,250 $6,428 2.86x 3/5 75.0% Nonprofit
5 Sentara Halifax Regional Hospital Sentara Health South Boston, VA · 0.1 mi $3,594 $7,187 2.0x 3/5 71.0% Nonprofit
6 Sovah Health Danville Danville, VA · 0.1 mi $6,391 $15,977 2.5x 2/5 59.0% For-profit
7 Lewisgale Medical Center HCA Virginia Salem, VA · 0.1 mi $17,753 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 Lumbar Spine with and without Contrast. Your actual out-of-pocket cost depends on your deductible status and copay structure.

Carilion New River Valley Medical Center

Cash: $2,104
Insurance Plan Negotiated Rate vs Cash
Anthem Managed Medicaid $294 -$1,810
Sentara Health Plan Managed Medicaid $300 -$1,804
Aetna Medicare Advantage $306 -$1,797
Humana Managed Medicaid $308 -$1,796
ABH of VA (formerly Coventry) Managed Medicaid $308 -$1,796
UnitedHealthcare Managed Medicaid $308 -$1,796
Humana Dual Eligible $319 -$1,784
Anthem Medicare Advantage $332 -$1,771
Humana Medicare Advantage $332 -$1,771
UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage $336 -$1,768
Sentara Health Plan Medicare Advantage $342 -$1,761
Humana Tricare $355 -$1,748
Anthem Exchange $1,334 -$769
Anthem Commercial $1,482 -$621

14 additional plans not shown.

Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital

Cash: $2,104
Insurance Plan Negotiated Rate vs Cash
Anthem Managed Medicaid $294 -$1,810
Sentara Health Plan Managed Medicaid $300 -$1,804
UnitedHealthcare Managed Medicaid $308 -$1,796
Humana Managed Medicaid $308 -$1,796
ABH of VA (formerly Coventry) Managed Medicaid $308 -$1,796
Humana Dual Eligible $319 -$1,784
Humana Medicare Advantage $332 -$1,771
Anthem Medicare Advantage $332 -$1,771
Aetna Medicare Advantage $336 -$1,768
UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage $336 -$1,768
Sentara Health Plan Medicare Advantage $342 -$1,761
Humana Tricare $355 -$1,748
Anthem Exchange $1,539 -$565
Anthem Commercial $1,709 -$394

14 additional plans not shown.

Carilion Giles Community Hospital

Cash: $2,250
Insurance Plan Negotiated Rate vs Cash
Anthem Managed Medicaid $294 -$1,956
Sentara Health Plan Managed Medicaid $300 -$1,950
ABH of VA (formerly Coventry) Managed Medicaid $308 -$1,942
UnitedHealthcare Managed Medicaid $308 -$1,942
Humana Managed Medicaid $308 -$1,942
Humana Dual Eligible $319 -$1,930
Anthem Medicare Advantage $332 -$1,917
Humana Medicare Advantage $332 -$1,917
UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage $336 -$1,914
Aetna Medicare Advantage $336 -$1,914
Sentara Health Plan Medicare Advantage $342 -$1,908
Humana Tricare $355 -$1,894
Anthem Exchange $1,619 -$631
Anthem Commercial $1,798 -$451

14 additional plans not shown.

Carilion Rockbridge Community Hospital

Cash: $2,250
Insurance Plan Negotiated Rate vs Cash
Anthem Managed Medicaid $294 -$1,956
Sentara Health Plan Managed Medicaid $300 -$1,950
Humana Managed Medicaid $308 -$1,942
ABH of VA (formerly Coventry) Managed Medicaid $308 -$1,942
UnitedHealthcare Managed Medicaid $308 -$1,942
Humana Dual Eligible $319 -$1,930
Humana Medicare Advantage $332 -$1,917
Anthem Medicare Advantage $332 -$1,917
Aetna Medicare Advantage $336 -$1,914
UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage $336 -$1,914
Sentara Health Plan Medicare Advantage $342 -$1,908
Humana Tricare $355 -$1,894
Anthem Exchange $1,465 -$785
Anthem Commercial $1,628 -$622

16 additional plans not shown.

Sentara Halifax Regional Hospital

Cash: $3,594
Insurance Plan Negotiated Rate vs Cash
Sentara Health Plan Medicare Managed Care Plan $350 -$3,244
Humana Medicare Managed Care Plan $353 -$3,240
Blue Cross Blue Shield Anthem Medicare Managed Care Plan $359 -$3,234
UnitedHealthcare Snp Medicare Managed Care Plan $360 -$3,233
UnitedHealthcare All Commercial Plans $798 -$2,795
Blue Cross Blue Shield Anthem Exchange $1,100 -$2,494
Blue Cross Blue Shield Anthem Hmo $1,182 -$2,411
Blue Cross Blue Shield Anthem Ppo $1,219 -$2,375

Lewisgale Medical Center

Cash: N/A
Insurance Plan Negotiated Rate
UnitedHealthcare AllPayerAppendix $828
Anthem HIX $1,693
Anthem HMO $1,881
Anthem PPO $1,881
Aetna SharedSavings $2,994
Lifeworks MCR $3,373
Universal Healthcare Group MCR $3,906
Virginia Health Network ULTRA $6,214
UnitedHealthcare OptionsPPO $6,746
UnitedHealthcare GlobalBenefitPlan $7,989
Aetna Broad $9,587
Greenvbrier Sporting Club COMM $10,652
Virginia Health Network COMM $12,605
Virginia Health Network WC $12,605
CorVel WorkersComp $12,782

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 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
Carilion New River Valley Medical Center Nonprofit Call billing, request Financial Assistance application
Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital Nonprofit Call billing, request Financial Assistance application
Carilion Giles Community Hospital Nonprofit Call billing, request Financial Assistance application
Carilion Rockbridge Community Hospital Nonprofit Call billing, request Financial Assistance application
Sentara Halifax Regional Hospital 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.