MRI Brain Cost in Missouri
Mri brain stem w/o & w/dye
Missouri Medicare physician rate (2026)
-6.2% vs nationalAverage of 3 localities. Office range $284.11–$305.60.
Your ZIP in Missouri
Enter a ZIP code to see which Missouri locality covers you: metro St. Louis, metro Kansas City, or rest-of-state areas like Springfield, Columbia, Joplin, and the Bootheel.
What this number is
The figures on this page are 2026 Medicare physician allowed amounts for a specific CPT code: the professional fee, adjusted by geographic practice-cost indices. They are not a hospital chargemaster price, not your insurer's contracted rate, and not a quote. Hospital facility fees, anesthesia, implants, imaging reads, and pathology are billed separately when they apply.
National vs Missouri
Where Missouri ranks for this CPT
CPT 70553 by Missouri locality
| Locality | Office |
|---|---|
| metropolitan st. louis | $305.60 |
| metropolitan kansas city | $302.39 |
| rest of missouri | $284.11 |
PE GPCI ranges from 0.862 to 0.952 in Missouri. That index is why the same CPT is not one price statewide.
MRI Brain and how Missouri is priced
Missouri is a three-locality state: metropolitan St. Louis and metropolitan Kansas City are each priced separately, and everywhere else falls into a rest-of-state locality with lower geographic adjustments. Both metro localities approve higher amounts than outstate Missouri, and the Kansas City locality applies only to the Missouri side of that metro, since the Kansas side prices under Kansas's statewide locality. Springfield, Columbia, and the rural counties all share rest-of-state factors. The metro-versus-outstate gap is the main pricing story here.
St. Louis and Kansas City hold the state's academic medical centers and most of its specialty depth, drawing patients from far beyond Missouri's borders, including southern Illinois and eastern Kansas. Outstate Missouri is served by regional hubs in Springfield, Columbia, and Cape Girardeau, with the Ozarks and Bootheel among the harder places to reach specialty care. Rural hospital viability has been a persistent concern across the state.
This procedure: This is the most complete brain MRI protocol: the scanner first takes a full set of images without dye, then repeats key sequences after an IV gadolinium injection, letting the radiologist compare the two. It is the standard workup for suspected brain tumors, multiple sclerosis, pituitary problems, and infection. Plan for 45 to 60 minutes in the scanner with an IV in your arm, making it the longest and most expensive of the three brain MRI codes.
What Is MRI Brain?
This is the most complete brain MRI protocol: the scanner first takes a full set of images without dye, then repeats key sequences after an IV gadolinium injection, letting the radiologist compare the two. It is the standard workup for suspected brain tumors, multiple sclerosis, pituitary problems, and infection. Plan for 45 to 60 minutes in the scanner with an IV in your arm, making it the longest and most expensive of the three brain MRI codes.
What Affects the Cost
- As the combined protocol, 70553 carries the highest base price of the brain MRI family, before facility markup differences.
- Hospital imaging departments charge far more than independent centers for this long scan.
- The gadolinium dose is a separate supply charge on top of the imaging codes.
- Longer scanner time means claustrophobia or movement problems are more likely to require sedation or a rescan, each adding cost.
- Follow-up MRIs to track a finding over time repeat the full cost at each interval, so the surveillance schedule matters as much as the single-scan price.
Questions to Ask Before Booking
- 1.Was the full without-and-with-contrast protocol authorized, or only a plain MRI?
- 2.What is your global price for this study at a freestanding center?
- 3.How many follow-up scans is my condition likely to need, and at what interval?
- 4.Are the contrast agent and radiologist reading included in the quoted price?
- 5.If my insurer pushes back, will my doctor do a peer-to-peer review to defend this protocol?
Other featured procedures in Missouri
MRI Brain in other states
MRI Brain in Missouri: questions
How much does mri brain cost in Missouri?
The 2026 Medicare physician office rate for CPT 70553 averages $297.37 across 3 Missouri localities, from $284.11 in REST OF MISSOURI to $305.60 in METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS. The hospital physician rate averages $297.37. Enter a ZIP for the exact locality.
Does the rate change inside Missouri?
Yes. CMS splits Missouri into 3 payment localities. For this CPT the office physician fee spans $21.49 from the lowest to highest locality. Enter a ZIP code to see which Missouri locality covers you: metro St. Louis, metro Kansas City, or rest-of-state areas like Springfield, Columbia, Joplin, and the Bootheel.
What will a Medicare patient owe for the physician fee?
After the Part B deductible, coinsurance is usually 20% of the allowed amount: about $59 for the office physician line or $59 for the hospital physician line in Missouri. Medigap may cover that 20%. This is not the hospital facility fee.
Is this the full mri brain bill in Missouri?
No. $297.37 is the Medicare physician allowed amount for CPT 70553. Anesthesia, facility fees, implants, and other CPT codes billed the same day are extra. Missouri ranks #15 of 51 states on this physician line (6% below the national office rate of $316.97).