MRI lumbar spine without contrastCPT 72148Imaging

Median commercial negotiated rate by hospital, from each hospital's own disclosure file. The same procedure spans a 23.2× price range across 73 Colorado hospitals. Open in the explorer → — filter by insurer or region, map it, or compare hospitals side by side.

How to read “% of Medicare” Medicare’s payment is a hospital-specific benchmark built from CMS files — adjusted for local wages and case complexity, and roughly pegged to the cost of care. A commercial rate at 300% means a private plan pays about triple that benchmark for the same care at the same hospital. The gap is negotiation, not quality. Full methodology →
Median commercial negotiated rate Medicare benchmark
$1,265
$1,371
$2,727
$3,260
$3,272
$3,537
$3,636
$5,477

The part you don’t feel

St Elizabeth Hospital $5,477vsHeart Of The Rockies Regional Medical Center $237 what you pay what your plan pays
Deductible not metearly in the plan year
St Elizabeth Hospital
Heart Of The Rockies Regional Medical Center
$5,240you feel all of it
Deductible met20% coinsurance
St Elizabeth Hospital
Heart Of The Rockies Regional Medical Center
$1,048$4,192 invisible to you
Out-of-pocket max reacheda bad year, or a big surgery
St Elizabeth Hospital
Heart Of The Rockies Regional Medical Center
$0the market goes blind

The gap is $5,240 in every row. The only thing that changes is how much of it reaches the person choosing. Nobody hid the price — the deductible structure hides the difference, and a difference nobody feels is a difference nobody shops. Illustration uses a 20% coinsurance plan with no separate facility or professional bill; your own plan governs.

Detail (click headers to sort, or “why” for cost vs price)

HospitalCommercial medianMedicare% of MedicareEst. cost*Plan rows
Heart Of The Rockies Regional Medical Center$237$24497%9
San Luis Valley Health Conejos County Hospital$244$244100%3
Estes Park Medical Center$247$244101%15
Gunnison Valley Hospital$323$244133%18
Animas Surgical Hospital$438$252174%~$9383
AdventHealth Porter$518$252206%6
AdventHealth Avista$518$254203%6
AdventHealth Littleton$518$252206%6
AdventHealth Parker$518$252206%6
AdventHealth Castle Rock$518$252206%6
Longmont United Hospital$564$254222%~$1,70618
Orthocolorado Hosp At St Anthony Med Campus$564$252224%~$1,09118
Lincoln Health Hospital$585$244240%9
CommonSpirit St Anthony Hospital$585$252232%~$1,05725
CommonSpirit St Anthony North Health Campus$590$252234%~$99724
St Francis Hospital - Interquest$600$252238%~$5,37416
CommonSpirit Penrose St Francis Health Services$614$252244%~$1,09117
Montrose Regional Health ● actual$747$252297%~$41914
Vail Health Hospital$817$252325%~$7459
East Morgan County Hospital$850$244349%12
Banner North Colorado Medical Center$900$252357%~$28917
Banner Fort Collins Medical Center$904$252359%~$36416
UCHealth Highlands Ranch Hospital$913$252363%~$1,12319
UCHealth Memorial Hospital ● actual$914$252363%~$56422
UCHealth Grandview Hospital$922$252366%~$1,94721
St Mary-Corwin Hospital$952$252378%~$1,47315
Longs Peak Hospital$958$254376%~$1,07119
UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center ● actual$976$252388%~$35818
National Jewish Health$978$252389%~$31714
UCHealth Greeley Hospital$996$252395%~$72418
UCHealth Broomfield Hospital$1,024$252406%~$1,86920
Valley View Hospital$1,035$252411%~$2963
Spanish Peaks Regional Health Center ● actual$1,049$244430%11
Parkview Medical Center$1,109$252441%~$67319
UCHealth Pikes Peak Regional Hospital$1,116$244458%16
Poudre Valley Hospital$1,187$252472%~$68123
Medical Center Of The Rockies$1,187$252472%~$64423
Family Health West Hospital$1,250$244513%1
Rangely Hospital$1,265$244519%4
Denver Health$1,371$252545%~$1,0186
Intermountain Health Lutheran Hospital$1,388$252551%~$49555
UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital ● actual$1,394$252554%~$1,05328
Sterling Regional Medcenter$1,562$252621%~$93416
Memorial Hospital, The$1,673$244686%8
Intermountain Saint Joseph Hospital$1,827$252726%~$53055
Good Samaritan Medical Center$1,827$254718%~$52753
Middle Park Medical Center$2,023$244830%9
Kit Carson County Memorial Hospital$2,070$244849%3
Intermountain Health Platte Valley Hospital$2,336$252928%~$82539
Delta County Memorial Hospital ● actual$2,345$252932%~$1,1937
HCA HealthONE Mountain Ridge$2,351$252934%~$77229
San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center$2,442$252970%~$98018
Intermountain Health St. Mary'S Regional Hospital$2,537$2521008%~$69452
Southwest Memorial Hospital$2,665$2441093%10
The Medical Center Of Aurora & South Hospital$2,692$2521070%~$71828
Mt San Rafael Hospital ● actual$2,727$2441119%111
Weisbrod Memorial County Hospital$2,832$2441162%9
Southeast Colorado Hospital$2,872$2441178%6
Prowers Medical Center$2,898$2441189%6
St Thomas More Hospital$2,955$2441212%14
Melissa Memorial Hospital$2,980$2441223%12
Sedgwick County Memorial Hospital$2,995$2441229%5
HCA HealthONE Rose$3,260$2521295%~$97728
Haxtun Hospital$3,272$2441342%5
Sky Ridge Medical Center$3,495$2521389%~$1,22726
Aspen Valley Hospital ● actual$3,537$2441451%85
Boulder Community Health$3,560$2541399%~$80332
HCA HealthONE Swedish Medical Center$3,560$2521414%~$1,03227
Community Hospital$3,636$2521445%~$7192
St Anthony Summit Medical Center$3,705$2521472%~$1,30920
HCA HealthONE Presbyterian St. Lukes$3,981$2521582%~$1,12030
Mercy Regional Medical Center$4,439$2521763%~$1,42719
St Elizabeth Hospital$5,477$2522176%~$2,07014

*Cost estimates use hospital-level cost-to-charge ratios from federal cost reports and are approximate; ~ marks categories (imaging, labs) where they are least precise. "Plan rows" is how many distinct plan rates the hospital published; medians over more rows are sturdier.
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Rexroad Analytics · Data: hospital machine-readable files (45 CFR 180, schema v3.0) retrieved August 21–22, 2026; Medicare benchmarks from CMS claims data and fee schedules; cost estimates from FY2026 CMS cost-report ratios, labeled as estimates. Not medical, legal, or benefits advice. Full methodology → · The American Healthcare Conundrum →