MRI of the lower back (lumbar spine) cost in Salt Lake City, UT

Prices at 3 hospitals in Salt Lake City, UT, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $2,222 — about the US median ($2,210), roughly 8.2× the Medicare rate.

Lowest cash prices

HospitalLocationCashInsurerCMS ratingER waitReadmit
Holy Cross Hospital-Salt Lake Salt Lake City, UT $2,222 $2,768 ★ 3/5 146 min
VA Salt Lake City Healthcare-George E. Wahlen VA Medical Center Salt Lake City, UT $2,222 $2,768 ★ 4/5
St Mark's Hospital Salt Lake City, UT $3,289 $612 ★ 4/5 109 min

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 September 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)
$5,556
Cash / self-pay
$2,222
Insurer-negotiated
$2,768
Medicare pays
$270
$2,222$3,075
Median cash $2,222  ·  Medicare $270  ·  bar = typical cash range (10th–90th percentile)
Is this a fair price?
1× Medicarefair ≈2×5×+

Typical cash price here is $2,222 — about 8.2× the Medicare rate ($270). High vs Medicare. A fair cash price is usually within ~2× Medicare ($539).

💡 Asking for the cash price instead of the $5,556 list price could save about $3,333 (60%).

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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 Salt Lake City

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
Taylor Pomeranz, MDDiagnostic RadiologySalt Lake City, UT51
Daniel Murphy, MDDiagnostic RadiologySalt Lake City, UT40
Mark Jones, MDDiagnostic RadiologySalt Lake City, UT36
Tyler Richards, MDDiagnostic RadiologySalt Lake City, UT29
Ulrich Rassner, M.D.Diagnostic RadiologySalt Lake City, UT25
Karen Salzman, MDDiagnostic RadiologySalt Lake City, UT24
Miriam Peckham, M.D.Diagnostic RadiologySalt Lake City, UT23
Joseph Mcnally, MD, PHDDiagnostic RadiologySalt Lake City, UT21
Lubdha Shah, M.D.Diagnostic RadiologySalt Lake City, UT17

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All MRI of the lower back (lumbar spine) prices in Utah → · All MRI of the lower back (lumbar spine) prices (national) · All hospitals in Salt Lake City