Prices at 6 hospitals in Saint Louis, MO, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $2,716 — about the US median ($2,681), roughly 8.5× the Medicare rate.
Lowest cash prices
| Hospital | Location | Cash | Insurer | CMS rating | ER wait | Readmit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri Baptist Medical Center | Saint Louis, MO | $1,910 | $1,024 | ★ 5/5 | 252 min | 14.8% |
| Christian Hospital Northeast | Saint Louis, MO | $1,910 | $1,751 | ★ 4/5 | 223 min | 14.7% |
| Mercy Hospital South | Saint Louis, MO | $2,365 | $558 | ★ 2/5 | 246 min | 15.8% |
| Mercy Hospital St Louis | Saint Louis, MO | $3,067 | $558 | ★ 4/5 | 217 min | 15.1% |
| St Louis Childrens Hospital | Saint Louis, MO | $4,683 | $5,120 | — | — | — |
| Shriners Hospitals for Children | Saint Louis, MO | $10,944 | $450 | — | — | — |
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 July 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)
Typical cash price here is $2,716 — about 8.5× the Medicare rate ($319). High vs Medicare. A fair cash price is usually within ~2× Medicare ($637).
💡 Asking for the cash price instead of the $4,179 list price could save about $1,463 (35%).
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 Saint Louis
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.
| Clinician | Specialty | Location | Medicare services |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liang Wang, MD PHD | Diagnostic Radiology | Saint Louis, MO | 49 |
| Shamseldeen Mahmoud, M.D | Diagnostic Radiology | Saint Louis, MO | 44 |
| Matthew Glasser, MD | Diagnostic Radiology | Saint Louis, MO | 38 |
| Thomas Kim, MD | Diagnostic Radiology | Saint Louis, MO | 29 |
| Martin Reis, MD | Nuclear Medicine | Saint Louis, MO | 27 |
| Manu Goyal, MD | Diagnostic Radiology | Saint Louis, MO | 20 |
| Tammie Benzinger, MD | Diagnostic Radiology | Saint Louis, MO | 18 |
All MRI of the mid-back (thoracic spine) with and without contrast prices in Missouri → · All MRI of the mid-back (thoracic spine) with and without contrast prices (national) · All hospitals in Saint Louis