MRI Brain Without Contrast Cost in Missouri
Mri brain stem w/o dye
Missouri Medicare physician rate (2026)
-6.1% vs nationalAverage of 3 localities. Office range $175.44–$188.49.
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 70551 by Missouri locality
| Locality | Office |
|---|---|
| metropolitan st. louis | $188.49 |
| metropolitan kansas city | $186.54 |
| rest of missouri | $175.44 |
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 Without 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 without contrast uses a powerful magnet and radio waves, no radiation, to produce detailed pictures of the brain. It is ordered for headaches with warning signs, dizziness, memory concerns, seizure evaluation, or suspected multiple sclerosis. You lie still inside the scanner tube for 20 to 40 minutes while it makes loud knocking sounds; earplugs are provided, and no needles are involved for this non-contrast version.
What Is MRI Brain Without Contrast?
A brain MRI without contrast uses a powerful magnet and radio waves, no radiation, to produce detailed pictures of the brain. It is ordered for headaches with warning signs, dizziness, memory concerns, seizure evaluation, or suspected multiple sclerosis. You lie still inside the scanner tube for 20 to 40 minutes while it makes loud knocking sounds; earplugs are provided, and no needles are involved for this non-contrast version.
What Affects the Cost
- Hospital-based MRI departments often charge several times what freestanding imaging centers charge for the identical scan.
- The radiologist's interpretation fee is separate from the scan fee, and the two may come from different billers.
- If the radiologist protocol adds contrast after reviewing initial images, the study converts to a costlier code and adds injection charges.
- Claustrophobic patients who need sedation or an open-bore magnet add medication, monitoring, or specialty-equipment costs.
- After-hours or stat interpretation requests can carry premium charges at some facilities.
Questions to Ask Before Booking
- 1.Has prior authorization been approved, and for which specific facility?
- 2.What is the price at a freestanding imaging center versus the hospital for this exact scan?
- 3.Is the radiologist's reading fee included in the quote or billed separately?
- 4.Could the protocol change to include contrast, and what would that cost?
- 5.If I am claustrophobic, what would sedation or an open MRI add?
Other featured procedures in Missouri
MRI Brain Without Contrast in other states
MRI Brain Without Contrast in Missouri: questions
How much does mri brain without contrast cost in Missouri?
The 2026 Medicare physician office rate for CPT 70551 averages $183.49 across 3 Missouri localities, from $175.44 in REST OF MISSOURI to $188.49 in METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS. The hospital physician rate averages $183.49. 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 $13.05 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 $37 for the office physician line or $37 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 without contrast bill in Missouri?
No. $183.49 is the Medicare physician allowed amount for CPT 70551. 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 $195.40).