HRHospitalRates.comCompare prices

Procedure price report · Magnetic resonance imaging

MRI of the neck (cervical spine) with and without contrast

CPT 72156the billing code this page is about

Magnetic resonance imaging of the cervical (neck) portion of the spine, with images taken both before and after contrast dye is injected.

Hospitals typically charge $2,591 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 3,246 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $2,727. Most fall between $1,282 and $4,661 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
3,246
States
50
Filings dated
Aug 2022 – Sep 2026
Computed
September 25, 2026
Prices checked
through September 24, 2026

Median: half of hospitals filed less, half more — and it is a price some hospital actually filed. Average of the middle 60%: the mean of the prices between the 20th and 80th percentiles. We never publish the plain average, the lowest or the highest price: the extremes in hospital price files are chargemaster artefacts, not prices anyone pays.

What hospitals charge, from cheapest to most expensive

Cash price percentiles, outpatient, across 3,246 hospitals. Each figure is a price a hospital filed. 10th: one in ten hospitals charges less; 25th: a quarter charge less; Median: half charge less; 75th: three quarters charge less; 90th: nine in ten charge less.
10th25thMedian75th90th
$776$1,512$2,591$4,187$6,726

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 8.7× what the cheapest tenth charges ($776 vs $6,726).

How the prices are spread

$503 – $679: 96 hospitals$503$679 – $916: 177 hospitals$916 – $1,235: 184 hospitals$916$1,235 – $1,666: 312 hospitals$1,666 – $2,246: 383 hospitals$1,666$2,246 – $3,030: 575 hospitals$3,030 – $4,087: 517 hospitals$3,030$4,087 – $5,512: 372 hospitals$5,512 – $7,434: 195 hospitals$5,512$7,434 – $10,027: 111 hospitals$7,434median $2,591price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (2,922 of 3,246 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$503$67996
$679$916177
$916$1,235184
$1,235$1,666312
$1,666$2,246383
$2,246$3,030575
$3,030$4,087517
$4,087$5,512372
$5,512$7,434195
$7,434$10,027111

Against Medicare

Medicare pays (OPPS 2026, national rate)$356
Median cash price$2,591
Cash as a multiple of Medicare7.3×

The Medicare figure is the national unadjusted OPPS rate for this code — what Medicare itself pays a hospital before local wage adjustment. It is a benchmark, not a price anyone is charged.

By state

The median cash price in each state, against the national median of $2,591.

Alaska: median $4,012 across 13 hospitalsAK$4,012Maine: median $1,601 across 24 hospitalsME$1,601Vermont: median $4,838 across 11 hospitalsVT$4,838New Hampshire: median $3,086 across 22 hospitalsNH$3,086Washington: median $2,646 across 70 hospitalsWA$2,646Idaho: median $2,263 across 22 hospitalsID$2,263Montana: median $2,689 across 16 hospitalsMT$2,689North Dakota: median $3,041 across 31 hospitalsND$3,041Minnesota: median $2,308 across 101 hospitalsMN$2,308Illinois: median $3,845 across 134 hospitalsIL$3,845Wisconsin: median $2,482 across 107 hospitalsWI$2,482Michigan: median $2,562 across 81 hospitalsMI$2,562New York: median $1,527 across 112 hospitalsNY$1,527Massachusetts: median $3,266 across 50 hospitalsMA$3,266Oregon: median $2,672 across 46 hospitalsOR$2,672Nevada: median $2,410 across 18 hospitalsNV$2,410Wyoming: median $2,091 across 12 hospitalsWY$2,091South Dakota: median $4,566 across 34 hospitalsSD$4,566Iowa: median $3,125 across 85 hospitalsIA$3,125Indiana: median $1,250 across 96 hospitalsIN$1,250Ohio: median $2,244 across 127 hospitalsOH$2,244Pennsylvania: median $2,583 across 116 hospitalsPA$2,583New Jersey: median $805 across 58 hospitalsNJ$805Connecticut: median $2,472 across 22 hospitalsCT$2,472Rhode Island: median $2,127 across 10 hospitalsRI$2,127California: median $4,052 across 214 hospitalsCA$4,052Utah: median $4,250 across 42 hospitalsUT$4,250Colorado: median $2,598 across 64 hospitalsCO$2,598Nebraska: median $4,047 across 82 hospitalsNE$4,047Missouri: median $2,497 across 76 hospitalsMO$2,497Kentucky: median $2,665 across 65 hospitalsKY$2,665West Virginia: median $2,155 across 40 hospitalsWV$2,155Virginia: median $3,273 across 71 hospitalsVA$3,273Maryland: median $917 across 37 hospitalsMD$917Delaware: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: median $2,389 across 49 hospitalsAZ$2,389New Mexico: median $2,632 across 29 hospitalsNM$2,632Kansas: median $1,716 across 83 hospitalsKS$1,716Arkansas: median $905 across 33 hospitalsAR$905Tennessee: median $1,325 across 78 hospitalsTN$1,325North Carolina: median $2,624 across 87 hospitalsNC$2,624South Carolina: median $2,517 across 52 hospitalsSC$2,517Oklahoma: median $1,543 across 61 hospitalsOK$1,543Louisiana: median $1,668 across 53 hospitalsLA$1,668Mississippi: median $1,707 across 49 hospitalsMS$1,707Alabama: median $2,218 across 38 hospitalsAL$2,218Georgia: median $2,278 across 103 hospitalsGA$2,278Hawaii: median $1,919 across 12 hospitalsHI$1,919Texas: median $3,265 across 233 hospitalsTX$3,265Florida: median $4,779 across 171 hospitalsFL$4,779
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $2,591. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
Vermont VT11$4,838+87%$3,201 – $6,065
Florida FL171$4,779+84%$1,721 – $11,795
South Dakota SD34$4,566+76%$4,290 – $5,629
Utah UT42$4,250+64%$2,565 – $5,000
California CA214$4,052+56%$2,070 – $8,254
Nebraska NE82$4,047+56%$2,831 – $4,963
Alaska AK13$4,012+55%$2,684 – $5,550
Illinois IL134$3,845+48%$1,915 – $5,532
Virginia VA71$3,273+26%$1,773 – $7,673
Massachusetts MA50$3,266+26%$1,909 – $4,533
Texas TX233$3,265+26%$1,714 – $7,351
Iowa IA85$3,125+21%$2,362 – $4,113
New Hampshire NH22$3,086+19%$2,333 – $7,218
North Dakota ND31$3,041+17%$2,462 – $3,798
Montana MT16$2,689+4%$2,190 – $3,555
Oregon OR46$2,672+3%$2,409 – $3,786
Kentucky KY65$2,665+3%$1,434 – $4,633
Washington WA70$2,646+2%$1,427 – $3,701
New Mexico NM29$2,632+2%$1,476 – $3,501
North Carolina NC87$2,624+1%$1,862 – $4,093
Colorado CO64$2,5980%$1,524 – $3,339
Pennsylvania PA116$2,5830%$702 – $5,810
Michigan MI81$2,562−1%$1,312 – $4,933
South Carolina SC52$2,517−3%$2,266 – $4,721
Missouri MO76$2,497−4%$1,562 – $3,483
Wisconsin WI107$2,482−4%$1,083 – $3,518
Connecticut CT22$2,472−5%$1,678 – $2,539
Nevada NV18$2,410−7%$1,698 – $5,341
Arizona AZ49$2,389−8%$521 – $6,017
Minnesota MN101$2,308−11%$1,232 – $3,404
Georgia GA103$2,278−12%$1,556 – $4,649
Idaho ID22$2,263−13%$1,884 – $2,662
Ohio OH127$2,244−13%$1,574 – $3,071
Alabama AL38$2,218−14%$1,236 – $4,893
West Virginia WV40$2,155−17%$1,513 – $4,568
Rhode Island RI10$2,127−18%$902 – $3,800
Wyoming WY12$2,091−19%$1,198 – $4,059
Hawaii HI12$1,919−26%$1,547 – $2,554
Kansas KS83$1,716−34%$779 – $3,774
Mississippi MS49$1,707−34%$1,094 – $2,107
Louisiana LA53$1,668−36%$835 – $2,556
Maine ME24$1,601−38%$722 – $2,999
Oklahoma OK61$1,543−40%$1,169 – $2,893
New York NY112$1,527−41%$507 – $4,763
Tennessee TN78$1,325−49%$669 – $2,779
Indiana IN96$1,250−52%$603 – $2,929
Maryland MD37$917−65%$563 – $1,267
Arkansas AR33$905−65%$584 – $2,420
New Jersey NJ58$805−69%$421 – $2,090
Delaware DE6not enough hospitals filed a usable price

Hospitals like yours

The same distribution cut by the kind of hospital. Hospital type and ownership come from CMS; a hospital counts as part of a system when its price file is shared with at least one other hospital under the same brand. The national median is $2,591.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care2,326$2,535$1,180 – $4,956
Children’s65$4,668$2,561 – $8,421
Critical access845$2,762$1,512 – $4,293
Ownership
For-profit476$3,555$1,476 – $11,540
Government569$2,483$1,243 – $3,986
Non-profit2,191$2,551$1,267 – $4,504
System affiliation
Part of a system2,673$2,645$1,327 – $4,927
Independent573$2,460$1,106 – $3,906

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$4,561
Median cash price$2,591
Cash as a share of list, median hospital65%

At the typical hospital, asking for the cash price cuts the list price by about 35%. The share is the median of each hospital’s own cash ÷ list ratio, over hospitals that filed both — not the ratio of the two medians above.

The same procedure, inpatient

2,209 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $2,691 and the average of the middle 60% is $2,803; most fall between $1,460 and $4,630.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 2,209 hospitals. Each figure is a price a hospital filed. 10th: one in ten hospitals charges less; 25th: a quarter charge less; Median: half charge less; 75th: three quarters charge less; 90th: nine in ten charge less.
10th25thMedian75th90th
$850$1,649$2,691$4,200$5,939

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 7.0× what the cheapest tenth charges ($850 vs $5,939).

Of the 2,452 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 2,209 gave a usable cash price; 135 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 108 a list price only.

How complete is this

3,246 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (82%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 3,588 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted3,246
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here219
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded0
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded5
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded118
Hospitals that filed this code3,588

Sections not shown for this setting

  • Since our last snapshot: there is no earlier snapshot at least 90 days older than this one yet.

We last checked these hospitals’ price files for changes between September 4, 2026 and September 24, 2026; the figures were computed September 25, 2026 from filings loaded through September 24, 2026. The percentiles and averages use only the “counted” row.

Related procedures

Part of the Magnetic resonance imaging family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as MRI Spinal Canal Cervical W/O & W/Contr Matrl|PROFESSIONAL COMPONENT.

Method

Source
The machine-readable price files every U.S. hospital is required by CMS to publish, parsed per hospital. Nothing is surveyed, sampled or modelled.
What counts
One cash (self-pay) price per hospital for this code and setting. A hospital’s own filing can rule its number out — a placeholder, a “not applicable” note, a list price standing in for cash — and our plausibility checks can flag a price far below what every other hospital files. Both kinds are disclosed above and excluded from the statistics; on the compare tool a flagged price is still shown.
Statistics
Percentiles are discrete: each is a price some hospital filed. The average is the mean of the prices between the 20th and 80th percentiles. We never publish the plain mean, the minimum or the maximum. A state needs 10 hospitals and a segment 20 to show a figure; otherwise the row shows its count and no number. Medicare is the national unadjusted OPPS rate where one exists.
Names
Procedure names on these pages are our own plain-language titles, not the AMA’s copyrighted CPT descriptors. The code is the identity.

The full rules — sources, statistics, thresholds, limitations — are on the methodology page.

Download this page’s figures: JSON · CSV. Aggregates only — the per-hospital prices are on the compare tool.

Cite: HospitalRates.com, “MRI of the neck (cervical spine) with and without contrast (CPT 72156) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-72156-mri-of-the-neck-cervical-spine-with-and-without-contrast