MRI, CT, ER and blood work cost with insurance vs cash price
Facts last checked . Rules last checked , reviewed by Harsha Moole, MD
This free tool is for anyone who is deciding whether to pay cash or use insurance at a hospital. Before you pay, ask the hospital if it can lower or forgive your bill, even if you have insurance.
What we found nationally
We compared the cash price with what insurance plans pay at 3,478 hospitals in all 50 states and DC, for 24 common tests, scans and ER visits. A case means one service at one hospital, 73,922 in all. The numbers come from each hospital's own price file, read in October 2026.
- The cash price was lower than the middle insurance plan rate in about 1 in 4 cases (25%). When cash had to be at least 10% lower, it was about 1 in 5 (19%).
- Compared with job-based or Marketplace plans, cash was lower in about 39% of cases.
- Compared with Medicare Advantage plans, cash was lower in only about 10% of cases, and compared with Medicaid plans, about 13%.
So cash is sometimes the better deal, mostly for people with a job-based or Marketplace plan who have not met their deductible. Check both prices before you go.
For more on each service, read our guides to what an MRI costs, what a CT scan costs and what blood work costs.
Typical prices across the country
This covers scans, ER visits and blood work, which are the costs people most often pay out of pocket. Out of pocket means money you pay yourself and not your insurer.
| Service | Middle cash price | Middle job-based or Marketplace plan rate |
|---|---|---|
| MRI of the brain, no contrast | $1,837 | $1,182 |
| MRI of the brain, with and without contrast | $2,703 | $1,613 |
| MRI of the lower back, no contrast | $1,902 | $1,193 |
| MRI of one leg joint such as a knee, no contrast | $1,831 | $1,201 |
| CT scan of the head, no contrast | $1,190 | $737 |
| CT scan of the belly and pelvis, no contrast | $2,114 | $1,070 |
| CT scan of the belly and pelvis, with contrast | $2,603 | $1,440 |
| Chest X-ray, 2 views | $244 | $204 |
| Ultrasound of the belly, complete | $667 | $440 |
| Pregnancy ultrasound | $536 | $377 |
| Screening mammogram, both breasts | $281 | $246 |
| Comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP) | $123 | $45.63 |
| Basic metabolic panel (BMP) | $91.20 | $38.62 |
| Complete blood count (CBC) | $62.48 | $33.01 |
| Cholesterol panel (lipid panel) | $95.06 | $45.73 |
| A1C blood sugar test | $63.70 | $33.83 |
| Thyroid test (TSH) | $97.65 | $50.75 |
| Urine test (urinalysis) | $42.00 | $17.20 |
| Blood draw from a vein | $18.85 | $15.61 |
| ER visit, level 2 (minor problem), hospital part | $378 | $385 |
| ER visit, level 3 (moderate problem), hospital part | $635 | $648 |
| ER visit, level 4 (serious problem), hospital part | $1,025 | $1,012 |
| ER visit, level 5 (very serious problem), hospital part | $1,495 | $1,459 |
| EKG heart tracing, hospital part | $184 | $159 |
Each number is the middle price across the 3,478 hospitals in our data, so half of hospitals are higher and half are lower. Your hospital and your plan can be very different, so use the search below for real prices near you.
Compare prices at hospitals near you
Read this first
- An insurance plan's rate is what the plan and the patient pay together. It is not your own bill.
- If you have not met your deductible yet, you usually pay your plan's full rate yourself. That is when paying cash can save money. A deductible is the amount you pay each year before your plan starts to pay.
- Your own plan's rate could be anywhere in the range shown. Call your insurer, or use its price tool, to get your exact rate.
- Ask your insurer whether a cash payment counts toward your deductible. Often it does not.
- If you have Medicaid, use it. Medicaid patients usually pay little or nothing.
- These prices are for the hospital's part only. The doctor who reads the scan or sees you usually bills separately. They are prices each hospital posted in its own file, not a quote.
- Regular Medicare is not shown, because its rates are set by the government.
Pick a service and type your ZIP code. We list the closest hospitals that posted both a cash price and what insurance plans pay.
Prices near you will show here.
Nothing you typed is saved.
Before you pay cash
- Ask the hospital about financial assistance first. Nonprofit hospitals must have a written financial assistance policy for emergency and other medically necessary care. Hospital financial assistance (charity care).
- Know your rights when you pay cash. If you do not use insurance, you can ask for a written Good Faith Estimate before a scheduled test or visit. If a hospital or doctor bills you at least $400 more than its estimate, you can dispute the bill through a federal process. Start within 120 days of the date on the first bill. Starting a dispute costs $25. Know your rights when you pay cash (Good Faith Estimate).
What to do next
- Worried about a hospital bill? Get help with hospital bills
- Paying cash for a test or scan? Know your rights when you pay cash (Good Faith Estimate)
- Not sure what fits you? Answer a few questions and get your plan
How we got these numbers
- Federal law makes hospitals post their prices in public files. We read those files in October 2026. They list the cash price and the rate each insurance plan has agreed to pay.
- We use dollar rates only. Some plans post a rate only as a percentage of the list price or as a formula. We do not use those, because they do not give a dollar amount.
- A case means one service at one hospital. We have 73,922 cases in all, from 3,478 hospitals and 24 services.
- An insurer amount under $1 is a file error, so we leave it out.
- The cash price is the same one on our hospital price pages. If we could not match a cash price to our price pages, we left that hospital and service out.
- The job-based or Marketplace, Medicare Advantage and Medicaid lines are the middle rate for each kind of plan. A Medicare Advantage plan is a Medicare plan run by a private company. We sort plans into these groups by the plan names in the file, so a few plans may sit in the wrong group.
- Some hospitals blocked our download or did not post insurer dollar amounts, so a hospital near you may be missing.
- Some hospitals changed their price file between the time we read it for our price pages and the time we read it for this tool. The cash price shown here always matches our price pages.
To see every hospital in a state, use our hospital cash price library. To see exactly how we choose and check prices, read our price library methods. For the national picture, see our 2026 report on cash-pay hospital prices.
Using this with a client
Ask for the client's ZIP code and the test, scan or visit their doctor ordered. Ask whether they have met their deductible and what kind of coverage they have. If they have Medicaid, help them use it. If they have a job-based or Marketplace plan, help them call the insurer to ask for the plan's rate and whether a cash payment counts toward the deductible. Before any cash payment, help them ask the hospital for financial help and for a written Good Faith Estimate.
Questions about cash and insurance prices
Is paying cash cheaper than using my insurance?
Sometimes it is, and sometimes it is not. Before you meet your deductible, you usually pay your plan's full rate yourself, and at some hospitals the cash price is lower than that rate. At other hospitals the cash price is higher than what insurance plans pay. Use the lines on each hospital card, then call your insurer to get your own plan's rate.
Can I ask for the cash price if I have insurance?
Often yes. Many hospitals will give you the cash price even if you have insurance, so ask before the test. Also ask whether paying cash counts toward your deductible. Often it does not.
Do hospitals charge less if you pay cash?
Sometimes. In our data, the cash price was lower than the middle insurance plan rate in about 1 case in 4 (25%), and in about 39% of cases for job-based or Marketplace plans. It depends on the hospital and the service. For Medicare Advantage and Medicaid plans, cash was lower much less often.
Why is an MRI cheaper without insurance sometimes?
Your plan has a deal with the hospital for each service. Before you meet your deductible, you pay that whole deal price yourself. At some hospitals the cash price is lower than the deal price, so cash costs less. Compared with the middle job-based or Marketplace plan rate, cash was lower at about 35 in 100 hospitals in our data for an MRI of the brain without contrast, so it is far from certain. Check both prices.
How much does blood work cost with insurance and without?
In our data, the middle hospital cash price was $123 for a comprehensive metabolic panel and $62.48 for a complete blood count. The middle job-based or Marketplace plan rate was $45.63 and $33.01. Before your deductible is met, you often pay your plan's rate yourself, so that rate is your out of pocket cost. Hospital blood work cash prices were lower than the plan rate at only about 3 in 10 hospitals, so check both prices.
Why does each hospital show a range of insurance rates?
A hospital has a different agreed rate with each insurance plan. The range runs from the lowest rate to the highest, and the middle rate sits in between. Your own plan's rate could be anywhere in the range. Call your insurer or use its price tool to find your exact rate.
Does a cash payment count toward my deductible?
Many plans do not count it, but rules differ from plan to plan. Ask your insurer before you pay.
Why is a hospital near me missing?
Some hospitals blocked our download, or did not post insurer dollar amounts, or did not post a cash price we could match to our price pages. You can still call that hospital and ask for its self-pay price.
Is my ZIP code saved?
Your ZIP code is not saved. The search runs on your device. Your browser asks our website for a small file of ZIP code points that is named with only the first three digits of your ZIP code. It also asks for the price lists of the states near you. Our website never gets your full ZIP code.
More free tools
This tool shows prices that hospitals posted in public files. Use them as a guide, not as a quote. If you have a medical emergency, call 911.