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MRI: hospital vs freestanding imaging center (Minneapolis–St. Paul)

Posted cash prices for brain, lumbar spine, and knee MRI without contrast · Oct 2026

Brain MRI w/o contrast · CPT 70551

Lowest posted imaging-center price: $453.79 (Diagnostic Imaging Center – Saint Paul (485 Arundel St) via Radiology Assist) · Metro hospital facility-cash median: $707.85 across 19 hospitals (facility fee only, radiologist extra).

Imaging centers (global price)

Price flags come from our manual audit of each hospital’s price file (Oct 30, 2026). “Low price checked in file” = we opened the file and the row is a real facility cash price. “May be a partial/component line” = the row looks like a component, per-unit, or bundled line, so the real price for this test may differ. Hover a flag for the reason. Always confirm with the hospital.

Metro hospitals: facility + radiologist = all-in range

Apples-to-apples with the center global prices above. All-in = facility cash + radiologist professional fee range (p10–p90 from the hospital file where posted; otherwise ESTIMATE = CMS 2026 MN Medicare ×1–3). 19 of 19 hospitals have a radiologist estimate; the rest show facility only. See method.

Lumbar spine MRI w/o contrast · CPT 72148

Lowest posted imaging-center price: $442.35 (Diagnostic Imaging Center – Saint Paul (485 Arundel St) via Radiology Assist) · Metro hospital facility-cash median: $759.87 across 19 hospitals (facility fee only, radiologist extra).

Imaging centers (global price)

Metro hospitals: facility + radiologist = all-in range

Apples-to-apples with the center global prices above. All-in = facility cash + radiologist professional fee range (p10–p90 from the hospital file where posted; otherwise ESTIMATE = CMS 2026 MN Medicare ×1–3). 19 of 19 hospitals have a radiologist estimate; the rest show facility only. See method.

Knee/joint MRI w/o contrast · CPT 73721

Lowest posted imaging-center price: $469.86 (Diagnostic Imaging Center – Saint Paul (485 Arundel St) via Radiology Assist) · Metro hospital facility-cash median: $819.03 across 19 hospitals (facility fee only, radiologist extra).

Imaging centers (global price)

Metro hospitals: facility + radiologist = all-in range

Apples-to-apples with the center global prices above. All-in = facility cash + radiologist professional fee range (p10–p90 from the hospital file where posted; otherwise ESTIMATE = CMS 2026 MN Medicare ×1–3). 19 of 19 hospitals have a radiologist estimate; the rest show facility only. See method.

Gaps

• Sources: Center for Diagnostic Imaging (CDI) is now RAYUS, and the Minnesota centers share one posted RAYUS MN price file (Aug 2026). Affordable MRI and Diagnostic Imaging Center – Brooklyn Center are the same address (2781 Freeway Blvd Ste 160), listed once. Consulting Radiologists (CRL) has no public CPT cash list and no freestanding MRI/CT, so it is not listed.
• CDI is now RAYUS; no separate CDI list found.
• Summit Orthopedics, Twin Cities Orthopedics, Allina, M Health Fairview, and Midwest Radiology outpatient imaging did not post a public MRI cash menu we could find — call for a Good Faith Estimate.
• Rochester: no freestanding center with a public MRI cash price found yet; see Mayo Clinic Hospital Rochester facility prices.

Statewide MRI prices (all 3 exams) →

Imaging price FAQ

What does “facility cash” mean?

The lowest discounted cash (self-pay) rate a hospital posts for the scan itself in its own price file. It covers the machine, room and technologist, not the doctor who reads the images.

Why is the RAYUS price higher than some hospital facility prices?

RAYUS posts a global cash price: scan + radiologist read in one number (RAYUS MN price file, Aug 2026). A hospital facility price leaves the read out, so compare RAYUS with the hospital all-in range, not the facility price alone.

Why does the hospital all-in add a radiologist fee separately?

Hospitals usually bill the radiologist’s read separately (a professional fee, CPT modifier 26). We add it as a range: FROM FILE where the hospital posts enough of those rates, otherwise an ESTIMATE based on Medicare’s Minnesota fee ×1–3. How we estimate

What does VERIFY or “% of charges” mean?

Some files (e.g. Mayo Clinic Health System) list payer rates as a percent of billed charges, not a fixed dollar fee. We show them as posted and mark them VERIFY; what is actually paid may be much lower.

How do I get a firm price?

If you are uninsured or self-pay, you can ask for a written Good Faith Estimate before the scan. See your billing rights.

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: imaging centers’ and hospitals’ own posted price files (machine-readable files parsed Oct 2026); doctor estimates from CMS CY2026 Physician Fee Schedule (RVU26D, Oct 2026 release).