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Northwest Minnesota medical costs: MRI, CT, ultrasound, ER and colonoscopy prices

Posted facility cash prices in Northwest Minnesota (12 hospitals, Oct 2026 price files): MRI $1,452–$3,417; CT $871–$4,016; ultrasound $92–$941; ER visit $254–$1,411; colonoscopy $853–$3,186. Doctor fees are billed separately.

12 hospitals in the Northwest Minnesota region (Minnesota Department of Health health care coalition region, by county; hospital county from CMS): Essentia Health Ada, Essentia Health Fosston, Essentia Health St Marys - Detroit Lakes, Kittson Healthcare, Lakewood Health Center, Lifecare Medical Center, North Valley Health Center, Riverview Hospital, Sanford Bagley Medical Center, Sanford Bemidji Medical Center, Sanford Thief River Falls Medical Center, St Josephs Area Health Services · lowest posted discounted-cash rate (hospital-fee rows only) plus doctor fee · Oct 2026

Jump to: Quick compare · MRI · CT · Ultrasound · ER visit · Colonoscopy

Quick compare: facility cash price by exam

Facility (hospital-fee) discounted-cash price only, across hospitals in this area that post one for the code; n = hospitals with a cash price. Doctor fees are left out of this summary because they mix FROM FILE, ESTIMATE and VERIFY unevenly; see each section for all-in ranges. Audit note: some posted lows that turned out to be professional-component, urgent-care or conflicting duplicate lines were excluded after a file-level audit (those hospitals show no cash for that exam).

MRI

MRI brain without contrast

All-in planning range: facility + radiologist read · CPT 70551

0 of 12 hospitals have a FROM FILE doctor fee (0 tagged VERIFY); the rest use ESTIMATE = CMS 2026 MN $66.42 ×1–3. How we estimate

MRI lumbar spine without contrast

All-in planning range: facility + radiologist read · CPT 72148

0 of 12 hospitals have a FROM FILE doctor fee (0 tagged VERIFY); the rest use ESTIMATE = CMS 2026 MN $67.10 ×1–3. How we estimate

MRI knee (lower-extremity joint) without contrast

All-in planning range: facility + radiologist read · CPT 73721

0 of 10 hospitals have a FROM FILE doctor fee (0 tagged VERIFY); the rest use ESTIMATE = CMS 2026 MN $61.62 ×1–3. How we estimate

CT scan

CT head/brain w/o contrast · CPT 70450

CT sinus/maxillofacial w/o contrast · CPT 70486

CT chest w/o contrast · CPT 71250

CT chest with contrast · CPT 71260

CT abdomen & pelvis w/o contrast · CPT 74176

CT abdomen & pelvis with contrast · CPT 74177

Ultrasound

Ultrasound, complete abdomen · CPT 76700

Ultrasound, complete pelvis (non-OB) · CPT 76856

Ultrasound, soft tissue head/neck (thyroid) · CPT 76536

Ultrasound, breast, limited · CPT 76642

ER visit

ER visit, level 3 (moderate)

All-in planning range: facility + er physician · CPT 99283

0 of 11 hospitals have a FROM FILE doctor fee (0 tagged VERIFY); the rest use ESTIMATE = CMS 2026 MN $65.04 ×1–3. How we estimate

ER visit, level 4 (high)

All-in planning range: facility + er physician · CPT 99284

0 of 11 hospitals have a FROM FILE doctor fee (0 tagged VERIFY); the rest use ESTIMATE = CMS 2026 MN $110.45 ×1–3. How we estimate

Colonoscopy (CPT 45378)

All-in planning range (facility + doctor + anesthesia)

8 hospitals with a professional-fee layer. Anesthesia (CPT 00811) is an ESTIMATE for every hospital: CMS 2026 Minnesota anesthesia fee ≈ $117.78 (4 base + 2 time units × $19.63) up to 3× — none of the hospital files posted usable per-case anesthesia rates (a few posted per-unit rates, which we don’t add). Some colonoscopies use nurse sedation with no separate anesthesia bill. Pathology (CPT 88305, pathologist read) applies only when a polyp or biopsy is taken; FROM FILE = 10th–90th percentile of the hospital file’s professional rates, else ESTIMATE $35.14–$105 (CMS 88305-26 ×1–3); count it once per specimen jar. Lab facility fees for pathology are not included.

How we estimate

Hospital safety grades (Leapfrog)

Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, Spring 2026, as shown on each hospital’s page here (Leapfrog source). A grade is about patient safety overall, not the price or quality of one exam.

Gaps

• Facility price = hospital-fee rows only (no “professional” billing class, no modifier 26; where a hospital labels every row professional, the technical/global non-26 rate is used).
• Doctor fee is FROM FILE only where the hospital posts ≥10 professional rates (radiology incl. CT: modifier 26; ER and colonoscopy: no modifier); otherwise ESTIMATE (CMS 2026 MN ×1–3), not that hospital’s bill.
• VERIFY (Mayo Clinic Health System hospitals): rows are true professional lines, but most payer rates are listed as a percent of billed charges (≈95–97% of the gross charge), not a fixed contracted fee — the typical amount actually paid may be much lower. Shown as posted; ask for a Good Faith Estimate.
• Colonoscopy all-in = facility + gastroenterologist + anesthesia (00811, always ESTIMATE: CMS 2026 MN ×1–3) + pathology if a polyp is removed (88305: FROM FILE where posted, VERIFY where most rates are a percent of billed charges). A polyp removal changes the code (45380/45385) and the price.
• Safety grades: Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, Spring 2026 (hospitalsafetygrade.org, accessed Oct 2026). Critical access hospitals are generally not graded.
• Regions are the Minnesota Department of Health’s 8 health care coalition regions (MDH county list, accessed Oct 30 2026); each hospital’s county comes from CMS Hospital General Information. Twin Cities metro hospitals are covered by the Metro Minnesota region guide and by the Twin Cities procedure pages (MRI, ER, colonoscopy, MRI centers, CT centers).

Statewide: MRI · CT · ER · Colonoscopy · Ultrasound

Facility fee only — doctor/radiologist, anesthesia, and pathology fees are billed separately and are not included. Prices come from each hospital’s own posted standard-charges file, last checked Oct 2026. Negotiated median is across all insurer rates in the file; it is not your plan’s price. Your insurer (Blue Cross, HealthPartners, Medica, UCare, etc.) may pay a different rate, and your cost depends on your deductible and coinsurance. Always ask for a Good Faith Estimate. Facility price = hospital-fee rows only (no “professional” billing class, no modifier 26; where a hospital labels every row professional, the technical/global non-26 rate is used). Re-extracted Oct 30, 2026. Know your billing rights.

How we got these prices · Last updated: Oct 30, 2026 (data files compiled). Data sources: hospitals’ own posted price files (machine-readable files parsed Oct 2026); doctor/radiologist estimates from CMS CY2026 Physician Fee Schedule (RVU26D, Oct 2026 release).