MRI of the lower back (lumbar spine) without contrast cost in Portland, OR

Prices at 4 hospitals in Portland, OR, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $1,234 — 36% below the US median ($1,939), roughly 6.4× the Medicare rate.

Lowest cash prices

HospitalLocationCashInsurerCMS ratingER waitReadmit
Legacy Emanuel Medical Center Portland, OR $753 ★ 3/5 166 min 14.7%
Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center Portland, OR $753 ★ 4/5 186 min 14.1%
OHSU Hospital and Clinics Portland, OR $1,714 $311 ★ 3/5 234 min 14.0%
Shriners Hospital for Children-Portland Portland, OR $6,253 $298

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)
$1,898
Cash / self-pay
$1,234
Insurer-negotiated
$305
Medicare pays
$192
$753$4,891
Median cash $1,234  ·  Medicare $192  ·  bar = typical cash range (10th–90th percentile)
Is this a fair price?
1× Medicarefair ≈2×5×+

Typical cash price here is $1,234 — about 6.4× 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 $1,898 list price could save about $664 (35%).

Estimate what you’ll pay
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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.

Doctors who perform this in Portland

Clinicians who reported the most Medicare volume for this service locally. This reflects Original Medicare activity only and is a volume signal, not a quality ranking.

ClinicianSpecialtyLocationMedicare services
Candice Henry, MDDiagnostic RadiologyPortland, OR453
Joao Prola Netto, M.D.Diagnostic RadiologyPortland, OR278
Stephen Tang, M.D.Diagnostic RadiologyPortland, OR277
Stephen Weldon, M.D.Diagnostic RadiologyPortland, OR228
Jeffrey Cagley, MDDiagnostic RadiologyPortland, OR218
Jordan Goss, MDDiagnostic RadiologyPortland, OR194
Ben Jacobson, M.D.Diagnostic RadiologyPortland, OR181
Joshua Nickerson, M.D.Diagnostic RadiologyPortland, OR170
Christopher Altenhofen, MDDiagnostic RadiologyPortland, OR164
Arzu Ozturk, M.D.Diagnostic RadiologyPortland, OR156
Thomas Gibson, MDDiagnostic RadiologyPortland, OR153
Richard Koesel, MDDiagnostic RadiologyPortland, OR152

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