MRI Brain With Contrast Cost in Missouri
Mri brain stem w/dye
Missouri Medicare physician rate (2026)
-6.4% vs nationalAverage of 3 localities. Office range $240.24–$258.96.
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 70552 by Missouri locality
| Locality | Office |
|---|---|
| metropolitan st. louis | $258.96 |
| metropolitan kansas city | $256.17 |
| rest of missouri | $240.24 |
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 With Contrast 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: A brain MRI with contrast adds an IV injection of gadolinium dye partway through the scan to highlight areas with increased blood flow or a disrupted blood-brain barrier, such as tumors, infections, or active inflammation. The experience matches a standard brain MRI, lying still in the scanner for 30 to 45 minutes, plus a small IV placed in your arm. The dye is generally well tolerated and passes in your urine within a day.
What Is MRI Brain With Contrast?
A brain MRI with contrast adds an IV injection of gadolinium dye partway through the scan to highlight areas with increased blood flow or a disrupted blood-brain barrier, such as tumors, infections, or active inflammation. The experience matches a standard brain MRI, lying still in the scanner for 30 to 45 minutes, plus a small IV placed in your arm. The dye is generally well tolerated and passes in your urine within a day.
What Affects the Cost
- The gadolinium contrast agent itself is billed as a separate supply line, with newer agents costing more.
- The IV placement and injection may add administration charges depending on the biller.
- Some facilities require a recent kidney function blood test before giving contrast, adding a lab charge.
- Facility choice, hospital versus freestanding center, remains the dominant price variable for any MRI.
- The radiologist's professional fee for a contrast study is higher than for a non-contrast scan.
Questions to Ask Before Booking
- 1.Does my authorization specifically cover a contrast study, not just a plain MRI?
- 2.Is the contrast agent billed separately, and how much does it add?
- 3.Do I need a kidney function test first, and who bills for that?
- 4.Why is contrast-only being ordered rather than the combined without-then-with protocol?
- 5.What is the total at a freestanding center versus the hospital, including the radiologist fee?
Other featured procedures in Missouri
MRI Brain With Contrast in other states
MRI Brain With Contrast in Missouri: questions
How much does mri brain with contrast cost in Missouri?
The 2026 Medicare physician office rate for CPT 70552 averages $251.79 across 3 Missouri localities, from $240.24 in REST OF MISSOURI to $258.96 in METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS. The hospital physician rate averages $251.79. 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 $18.72 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 $50 for the office physician line or $50 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 with contrast bill in Missouri?
No. $251.79 is the Medicare physician allowed amount for CPT 70552. 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 $268.88).