CT scan of the lower back (lumbar spine) with contrast cost in North Dakota

Prices at 21 hospitals in North Dakota, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $1,553 — about the US median ($1,580), roughly 9.2× the Medicare rate.

Lowest cash prices

HospitalLocationCashInsurerCMS ratingER waitReadmit
CHI St Alexius Health Williston Williston, ND $800 $668 ★ 3/5 157 min 15.6%
CHI Oakes Hospital Oakes, ND $838 $1,530 108 min 15.0%
Jacobson Memorial Hospital Care Center Elgin, ND $1,241 $1,571 111 min
CHI St Alexius Health Dickinson Dickinson, ND $1,298 $1,627 ★ 2/5 185 min 13.6%
Altru Hospital Grand Forks, ND $1,345 $416 ★ 3/5 167 min 13.9%
Mountrail County Medical Center Inc Stanley, ND $1,431 $1,431 79 min
South Central Health Wishek, ND $1,447 96 min 14.9%
CHI St Alexius Health Devils Lake Devils Lake, ND $1,484 $2,580 ★ 2/5 138 min 14.9%
Carrington Health Center Carrington, ND $1,502 $1,891 101 min 14.9%
Essentia Health Fargo, ND $1,553 $1,009 ★ 3/5 104 min 14.8%
Presentation Medical Center Rolla, ND $1,557 104 min 15.0%
Smp Health St Aloisius Harvey, ND $1,557 ★ 1/5 76 min 15.8%
Linton Hospital-CAH Linton, ND $1,564 $1,095 109 min 14.8%
Sanford Medical Center Bismarck Bismarck, ND $1,590 $1,397 ★ 4/5 175 min 13.9%
St Andrew's Hospital Bottineau, ND $1,725 $1,461 105 min 15.6%
Lisbon Area Health Services Lisbon, ND $1,979 $2,933 111 min
Jamestown Regional Medical Center Jamestown, ND $2,275 $2,418 ★ 4/5 110 min 14.7%
Tioga Medical Center Tioga, ND $2,434 $2,434 84 min 15.4%
Sanford Medical Center Fargo Fargo, ND $2,821 $1,641 ★ 4/5 189 min 14.6%

CMS rating = overall hospital star rating (1–5); ER wait = median minutes in the emergency department; Readmit = 30-day readmission rate (lower is better) — all from Medicare’s Care Compare; “—” = not reported. Data last updated June 2026. Prices from hospitals’ machine-readable files (45 CFR §180); Medicare benchmark from CMS PFS/CLFS/IPPS. Prices below 15% of the median are excluded as likely partial or mis-coded charges. Estimates — confirm with the hospital. Report an incorrect price.

Price comparison (median)

Chargemaster (list price)
$1,987
Cash / self-pay
$1,553
Insurer-negotiated
$1,496
Medicare pays
$169
$1,160$2,307
Median cash $1,553  ·  Medicare $169  ·  bar = typical cash range (10th–90th percentile)
Is this a fair price?
1× Medicarefair ≈2×5×+

Typical cash price here is $1,553 — about 9.2× the Medicare rate ($169). High vs Medicare. A fair cash price is usually within ~2× Medicare ($337).

💡 Asking for the cash price instead of the $1,987 list price could save about $434 (22%).

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Rough estimate from this procedure’s median insurer-negotiated rate. Your actual cost depends on your plan — confirm with your insurer.

CT scan of the lower back (lumbar spine) with contrast cost in other states

All CT scan of the lower back (lumbar spine) with contrast prices (national) → · All hospitals in North Dakota →