How Much Does an MRI Lumbar Spine Cost in Washington?
Mri lumbar spine w/o dye
$312Hospital outpatient total2026 Medicare, physician + facilityUnder 2026 Medicare rates, an MRI lumbar spine costs up to about $312 in total at a hospital outpatient department, counting both the physician and the facility (national rates). Outside a hospital, at an independent imaging center, lab or office, Medicare's full rate in Washington averages $212, from $199 in Rest of Washington to $225 in Seattle (King Cnty).
- ✓Your ZIP's wage-adjusted hospital and surgery center rates
- ✓Five nearby hospitals by name, with CMS star ratings
- ✓The add-on codes that typically land on the bill
- ✓A word-for-word script for asking for a good-faith estimate
- ✓A private link you can reopen and share
- ✓Everything in the Premium report
- ✓15 nearby hospitals instead of five
- ✓Filled good-faith-estimate request letter
- ✓Bill-negotiation letter
- ✓Printable PDF download
Washington Medicare physician rate (2026)
+10.7% vs nationalAverage of 2 localities. Office range $198.98–$225.36.
What the whole procedure costs
The office rate above is what an imaging center, lab or office is paid for the whole test. In a hospital, the facility bills its own fee and the physician bills only the reading. These are 2026 national Medicare amounts.
Medicare may pay the facility separately for this code or package it into another service on the same day, so treat the facility share as an upper bound. For a test like this the physician in a hospital bills only the reading (the professional component); outside a hospital one global fee covers the whole test, shown in the office rate above. Medicare allowed amounts are not what an uninsured patient is charged, and not a quote. Private plans typically allow more.
Your ZIP in Washington
Enter your ZIP code to see whether Seattle-area or rest-of-state pricing applies, from Seattle, Tacoma, and Everett to Spokane, the Tri-Cities, Vancouver, Bellingham, and the Olympic Peninsula.
What MRI lumbar spine costs at hospitals near you
Everything above is a national average. The hospital you pick in Washington moves the bill more than anything else you control.
Rates for your ZIP, 5 named hospitals with CMS ratings, the add-on codes, and the scheduler script.
For example 98012.
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What these numbers are
Every figure on this page is a 2026 Medicare allowed amount: the physician line comes from the Physician Fee Schedule adjusted by geographic practice-cost indices, and the facility totals come from the CMS hospital outpatient (OPPS) and ambulatory surgery center rates. None of them is a hospital chargemaster price, your insurer's contracted rate, or a quote. Anesthesia, pathology, imaging reads and follow-up care are billed under their own codes when they apply, and an inpatient stay is paid a different way again. In Washington the office and hospital physician lines for this CPT differ by $140.26.
National vs Washington
Where Washington ranks for this CPT
CPT 72148 by Washington locality
| Locality | Office |
|---|---|
| seattle (king cnty) | $225.36 |
| rest of washington | $198.98 |
PE GPCI ranges from 1.053 to 1.227 in Washington. That index is why the same CPT is not one price statewide.
MRI Lumbar Spine and how Washington is priced
Washington divides into a Seattle-area locality and a rest-of-state locality, so Puget Sound's biggest market carries higher geographic adjustments than Spokane, the Tri-Cities, or the coast. The Seattle locality reflects some of the highest wages in the western United States, while everywhere else in the state shares one lower-cost set of factors. An identical procedure is therefore approved at more in Seattle than in Spokane, a two-tier pattern much like Oregon's. Rest-of-state Washington still prices respectably against national averages.
Seattle is the referral capital of the Pacific Northwest, with academic medicine that serves not just Washington but Alaska, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming through long-standing regional arrangements. Spokane anchors the Inland Northwest, drawing patients from northern Idaho and beyond, while the Olympic Peninsula and southwest coast are comparatively underserved. Rapid consolidation has concentrated much of the state's care into a few large systems.
This procedure: A lumbar spine MRI without contrast images the lower back, the region responsible for most back pain and sciatica, showing discs, nerve roots, and the spinal canal. It is the definitive test before considering injections or surgery for a suspected herniated disc or spinal stenosis. You lie on your back in the scanner for 20 to 40 minutes; it is painless but the flat position can be uncomfortable if lying down aggravates your pain.
What Is MRI Lumbar Spine?
A lumbar spine MRI without contrast images the lower back, the region responsible for most back pain and sciatica, showing discs, nerve roots, and the spinal canal. It is the definitive test before considering injections or surgery for a suspected herniated disc or spinal stenosis. You lie on your back in the scanner for 20 to 40 minutes; it is painless but the flat position can be uncomfortable if lying down aggravates your pain.
What Affects the Cost
- –This is one of the most shopped scans in America, and prices between hospitals and independent centers commonly differ several-fold.
- –Insurer rules pushing six weeks of conservative care first mean therapy visit costs often precede the scan.
- –Findings frequently lead to epidural injections or surgical consultations, so the MRI is often the gateway to a much larger episode of spending.
- –Contrast is only added for specific concerns like prior surgery or infection, at a higher-code price.
- –Open or wide-bore scanners for larger or claustrophobic patients can carry different pricing at specialty centers.
Questions to Ask Before Booking
- 1.Do I meet my insurer's criteria yet, or will this be denied for lack of conservative treatment first?
- 2.What is the cash or negotiated price at nearby freestanding imaging centers?
- 3.Is my scan authorized at the specific location I am booked at?
- 4.Given my history, does the radiologist need contrast, and what would that add?
- 5.If the MRI shows a disc problem, what are the typical next-step costs I should anticipate?
Other featured procedures in Washington
MRI Lumbar Spine in other states
MRI Lumbar Spine in Washington: questions
Under 2026 Medicare rates, an MRI lumbar spine costs up to about $312 in total at a hospital outpatient department, counting both the physician and the facility (national rates). Outside a hospital, at an independent imaging center, lab or office, Medicare's full rate in Washington averages $212, from $199 in Rest of Washington to $225 in Seattle (King Cnty). Enter a ZIP for the exact Washington locality.
Yes. CMS splits Washington into 2 payment localities. For this CPT the office physician fee spans $26.38 from the lowest to highest locality. Enter your ZIP code to see whether Seattle-area or rest-of-state pricing applies, from Seattle, Tacoma, and Everett to Spokane, the Tri-Cities, Vancouver, Bellingham, and the Olympic Peninsula.
After the Part B deductible, coinsurance is usually 20% of the allowed amount: about $42 for the office physician line or $14 for the hospital physician line in Washington. Medigap may cover that 20%. This is not the hospital facility fee.
It depends on where the test is done. At an independent imaging center, lab or office, $212.17 is Medicare's full rate in Washington, covering the test and the reading. In a hospital outpatient department the physician is paid only for the reading (about $71.91) and the hospital is paid separately, which brings the national total to up to about $312. Washington ranks #48 of 51 states on the non-hospital rate (11% above the national office rate of $191.72).