MRI of the lower back (lumbar spine) without contrast cost in New Mexico

Prices at 12 hospitals in New Mexico, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $1,880 — 3% below the US median ($1,939), roughly 9.8× the Medicare rate.

Lowest cash prices

HospitalLocationCashInsurerCMS ratingER waitReadmit
Unm Hospital Albuquerque, NM $1,178 $235 ★ 2/5 279 min 15.3%
Lovelace Medical Center Albuquerque, NM $1,282 $2,137 ★ 2/5 217 min 14.9%
Lovelace Women's Hospital Albuquerque, NM $1,282 $2,137 ★ 4/5 199 min 14.0%
Lovelace Westside Hospital Albuquerque, NM $1,282 $2,137 ★ 4/5 154 min 15.2%
Lovelace Regional Hospital-Roswell Roswell, NM $1,282 $2,137 ★ 2/5 126 min 15.3%
Gila Regional Medical Center Silver City, NM $1,860 $1,200 ★ 2/5 184 min 15.1%
Holy Cross Hospital a Div of Taos Health Systems Taos, NM $1,900 ★ 1/5 98 min 14.7%
Memorial Medical Center Las Cruces, NM $2,285 $1,883 ★ 2/5 204 min 15.4%
Sierra Vista Hospital T Or C, NM $2,580 $419 171 min 15.2%
Artesia General Hospital Artesia, NM $2,623 $1,749 101 min 15.0%
Union County General Hospital Clayton, NM $2,811 $3,614 130 min 15.3%
Los Alamos Medical Center Los Alamos, NM $4,343 $2,817 164 min 15.2%

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 August 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)
$4,145
Cash / self-pay
$1,880
Insurer-negotiated
$2,137
Medicare pays
$192
$1,282$2,792
Median cash $1,880  ·  Medicare $192  ·  bar = typical cash range (10th–90th percentile)
Is this a fair price?
1× Medicarefair ≈2×5×+

Typical cash price here is $1,880 — about 9.8× the Medicare rate ($192). High vs Medicare. A fair cash price is usually within ~2× Medicare ($383).

💡 Asking for the cash price instead of the $4,145 list price could save about $2,264 (55%).

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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.

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MRI of the lower back (lumbar spine) without contrast cost in other states

All MRI of the lower back (lumbar spine) without contrast prices (national) → · All hospitals in New Mexico →