X-ray of the lower back (lumbar spine) (2 views) cost in Milwaukee, WI

Prices at 5 hospitals in Milwaukee, WI, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $221 — 26% below the US median ($298), roughly 5.5× the Medicare rate.

Lowest cash prices

HospitalLocationCashInsurerCMS ratingER waitReadmit
Ascension Se Wisconsin Hospital Milwaukee, WI $155 $116 ★ 5/5 119 min 13.6%
Ascension Columbia St Marys Hospital Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI $206 $69 ★ 3/5 165 min 13.7%
Childrens Hospital of Wisconsin Milwaukee, WI $235 $362
Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital Milwaukee, WI $437 $489 ★ 3/5 275 min 15.4%

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)

Chargemaster (list price)
$408
Cash / self-pay
$221
Insurer-negotiated
$116
Medicare pays
$40
$170$377
Median cash $221  ·  Medicare $40  ·  bar = typical cash range (10th–90th percentile)
Is this a fair price?
1× Medicarefair ≈2×5×+

Typical cash price here is $221 — about 5.5× the Medicare rate ($40). High vs Medicare. A fair cash price is usually within ~2× Medicare ($81).

💡 Asking for the cash price instead of the $408 list price could save about $187 (46%).

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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 Milwaukee

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
Rajeev Mannem, M.D.Radiation OncologyMilwaukee, WI175
Stephen Johnston, M.D.Diagnostic RadiologyMilwaukee, WI173
Anand Brahmamdam, DODiagnostic RadiologyMilwaukee, WI167
Glen Hansen, MDDiagnostic RadiologyMilwaukee, WI156
Sumant Tumuluru, M.D.Diagnostic RadiologyMilwaukee, WI154
Matthew Vickery, MDDiagnostic RadiologyMilwaukee, WI152
Melissa Dubois, MDDiagnostic RadiologyMilwaukee, WI141
Sean Lehner, MDDiagnostic RadiologyMilwaukee, WI139
Robert Neimon, M.D.Diagnostic RadiologyMilwaukee, WI132
Rahul Nath, DODiagnostic RadiologyMilwaukee, WI125
Jonathan Jennings, M.D.Diagnostic RadiologyMilwaukee, WI122
Zacharias Zitterkopf, M.D.Diagnostic RadiologyMilwaukee, WI112

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All X-ray of the lower back (lumbar spine) (2 views) prices in Wisconsin → · All X-ray of the lower back (lumbar spine) (2 views) prices (national) · All hospitals in Milwaukee