How much does an MRI of the lower back (lumbar spine) cost without insurance in Chicago, IL?

Of the 14 hospitals in this table, 12 publish a self-pay (cash) price; their median is $1,633. That is the hospital's facility charge — a separately billed doctor's fee may apply. Freestanding imaging centers aren't in these hospital files and are often cheaper for self-pay patients.

How much does an MRI of the lower back (lumbar spine) cost with insurance in Chicago, IL?

With insurance, the hospital's negotiated rate is what your plan is billed. Across 14 hospitals here the median commercial-plan rate is $1,584, and the middle half fall between $668 and $1,967. Until you meet your deductible you typically pay that negotiated amount; after it, your coinsurance or copay applies.

Why do Lower Back MRI prices differ so much between Chicago, IL hospitals?

Each hospital negotiates separately with each insurer, and hospitals in the same health system often share one rate sheet. In this table the cheapest quarter of hospitals negotiated $668 or less, while the priciest quarter negotiated $1,967 or more — 2.9 times as much for the same procedure code.

What is the Medicare rate shown here?

$244 is the CMS national outpatient (OPPS) payment rate for this procedure family. We show it as a government baseline so you can see each hospital's multiple of it.

All procedures / Lower Back MRI / Chicago, IL

Lower Back MRI Cost in Chicago, IL (2026): Negotiated Rates by Insurance TypeNPI VERIFIED

Across 14 hospitals in the Chicago, IL area that publish federally required price files, the median negotiated rate under commercial insurance is $1,584 (middle half of hospitals: $668–$1,967) and the median self-pay (cash) price is $1,633 for an MRI of the lower back (lumbar spine). The Medicare outpatient baseline for the same procedure family is $243.

Source: hospital machine-readable files (45 CFR §180), file dates 2025-08-01 to 2026-07-22 · Medicare baseline: CMS OPPS Addendum B · Data extracted 2026-10-31 · Page updated 2026-10-31

Area covered: hospitals in Chicago, Aurora, Elmhurst, Maywood, Melrose Park, Naperville, Oak Lawn and Oak Park, Illinois. Hospitals outside these places are not in this table, even if they serve the area.

Median insured rate

$1,584

commercial plans · 14 of 14 hospitals

Middle half

$668–$1,967

25th–75th percentile of hospitals

Median cash

$1,633

self-pay price · 12 hospitals list one

Medicare baseline

$243

CMS OPPS national

1 of 14 hospital files were more than 12 months old at extraction (flagged in the table). Hospitals must update these files yearly; older figures may not reflect current contracts.

This is the hospital's facility fee. The radiologist who reads the images bills separately.

These are contract reference rates, not your bill. A plan-type median is not a quote for your specific plan or network. Your out-of-pocket cost depends on your deductible, coinsurance and network status. Rates shown are facility charges only — physician/radiologist fees are billed separately.

Hospital	Insured median	PPO	HMO	Commercial	Medicare Adv.	ACA Exchange	Medicare	Cash	List (gross)
Roseland Community Hospital Chicago · CMS 1★ · file updated 2026-07-01	$298	$2981.2× Medicare	$2981.2× Medicare	—	$2551.0× Medicare	$2551.0× Medicare	—	$302	$597
Elmhurst Memorial Hospital Elmhurst · CMS 3★ · file updated 2026-04-01	$547	$6832.8× Medicare	—	$4111.7× Medicare	—	—	$2551.0× Medicare	—	—
Edward Hospital Naperville · CMS 3★ · file updated 2026-04-01	$547	$6832.8× Medicare	—	$4111.7× Medicare	—	—	$2551.0× Medicare	—	—
South Shore Hospital Chicago · file updated n/a	$636	$6392.6× Medicare	$6362.6× Medicare	—	$2831.2× Medicare	$5172.1× Medicare	$2801.1× Medicare	$509	—
Loyola University Medical Center Maywood · CMS 2★ · file updated n/a	$761	$2,81511.6× Medicare	$7613.1× Medicare	—	$2591.1× Medicare	$3231.3× Medicare	—	$948	$4,123
Community First Medical Center Chicago · CMS 2★ · file updated 2026-04-01	$1,104	$1,1274.6× Medicare	$1,0814.4× Medicare	$1,5016.2× Medicare	$2551.0× Medicare	$2551.0× Medicare	—	$1,653	$3,306
Advocate Christ Hospital & Medical Center Oak Lawn · CMS 3★ · file updated 2025-11-04	$1,509	$1,7307.1× Medicare	$1,5096.2× Medicare	$1,3985.7× Medicare	$3711.5× Medicare	—	—	$1,210	$2,420
Rush Oak Park Hospital Oak Park · CMS 4★ · file updated 2026-07-22	$1,659	$1,3175.4× Medicare	$1,7647.2× Medicare	$1,5546.4× Medicare	$3,52814.5× Medicare	$4,58618.8× Medicare	—	$1,764	$3,528
Loyola Gottlieb Memorial Hospital Melrose Park · CMS 3★ · file updated n/a	$1,761	$2,2389.2× Medicare	$1,7617.2× Medicare	—	$2621.1× Medicare	$2961.2× Medicare	—	$783	$4,123
Rush University Medical Center Chicago · CMS 5★ · file updated 2026-07-22	$1,884	$1,8017.4× Medicare	$1,9678.1× Medicare	$1,6916.9× Medicare	$3,22513.2× Medicare	$4,35317.9× Medicare	—	$1,612	$3,225
Insight Hospital And Medical Center Chicago Chicago · CMS 1★ · file updated 2026-06-25	$1,995	—	$1,9958.2× Medicare	—	—	—	$1,7107.0× Medicare	$2,280	$2,850
Copley Memorial Hospital Aurora · CMS 4★ · file updated 2026-07-22	$2,099	$1,7277.1× Medicare	$2,47110.1× Medicare	$1,5666.4× Medicare	$3,85915.8× Medicare	$2,92312.0× Medicare	—	$1,929	$3,859
University Of Illinois Hospital And Clinics Chicago · CMS 4★ · file updated 2025-08-01file >12 mo old	$2,272	$4,00216.4× Medicare	$2,2989.4× Medicare	—	$2511.0× Medicare	—	$2511.0× Medicare	$4,002	$5,718
Ann & Robert H Lurie Childrens Hospital Of Chicago Chicago · file updated 2026-04-01	$5,197	$5,38722.1× Medicare	$5,27021.6× Medicare	—	—	—	—	$4,099	$5,856

Each figure is the median of that hospital's published rates for the procedure's code family under that plan type. "Insured median" is the median of the hospital's commercial-plan rates (PPO, HMO, EPO, POS, ACA marketplace and plans not labelled by type); the headline figure is the median of that column. Hospitals label plan types differently, so compare the Insured median column across hospitals rather than a single plan-type column. "×Medicare" compares to the CMS national outpatient rate. Blank cells mean the hospital's file discloses no dollar rate for that plan type.

Reuse: the price statistics on this page are licensed CC BY 4.0 — use them for anything, including commercial work, crediting "HospitalPriceGrid (ArtiLabs)". Site text, design and paid data extracts are not covered.

Frequently asked questions

How much does an MRI of the lower back (lumbar spine) cost without insurance in Chicago, IL?: Of the 14 hospitals in this table, 12 publish a self-pay (cash) price; their median is $1,633. That is the hospital's facility charge — a separately billed doctor's fee may apply. Freestanding imaging centers aren't in these hospital files and are often cheaper for self-pay patients.
How much does an MRI of the lower back (lumbar spine) cost with insurance in Chicago, IL?: With insurance, the hospital's negotiated rate is what your plan is billed. Across 14 hospitals here the median commercial-plan rate is $1,584, and the middle half fall between $668 and $1,967. Until you meet your deductible you typically pay that negotiated amount; after it, your coinsurance or copay applies.
Why do Lower Back MRI prices differ so much between Chicago, IL hospitals?: Each hospital negotiates separately with each insurer, and hospitals in the same health system often share one rate sheet. In this table the cheapest quarter of hospitals negotiated $668 or less, while the priciest quarter negotiated $1,967 or more — 2.9 times as much for the same procedure code.
What is the Medicare rate shown here?: $244 is the CMS national outpatient (OPPS) payment rate for this procedure family. We show it as a government baseline so you can see each hospital's multiple of it.

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