These are the most and least expensive states to have an MRI

Theo Thimou | September 19th, 2017

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Health care in the United States is going through a protracted period of upheaval. At a time like this, you need every hack and trick in the book to help you manage the cost of care!

That’s where a website like Amino comes in handy.

Check MRI expense by state

Amino is a free service that lets you research the cost of a particular procedure at your doctor of choice based on the insurance you have!

It pulls together data from other people who have the same insurance who already had the procedure you’re looking for at the doctor you’re considering.

The site now boasts pricing data on 550,000 physicians, 77 procedures and 129 insurance companies. Among the procedures you can get a quote for on Amino are ACL surgery, EKGs, hernia surgery, knee arthroscopy, skin tag removal and vasectomy.

But for the purposes of this article, we’ll look specifically at the cost of an MRI. The following chart was put together by Amino based on their research.

First things first: Hospital or imaging center?

When you’re thinking about having an MRI done, the first thing you’ve got to do is decide between having it done at a freestanding imaging center or a hospital.

The former will typically be the cheaper option with a median price tag of $444. An MRI at a hospital, meanwhile, has a median cost of $1,468.

In states like Michigan, Oklahoma, Washington, South Carolina and Wisconsin, you’ll find a huge spread in price between the two facilities that can be in the thousands of dollars.

But no state is worse than Alaska. Residents of the Last Frontier state will pay a median price of $3,200 more for having their MRI done at a hospital vs. at a freestanding imaging center!

On the other side of the ledger, Mississippians pay just $97 more to choose a hospital MRI over a freestanding imaging center.

Two ways to lower the cost

The advice here is really a twofer…

First, if you live in a state with a big spread in price difference between the two kinds of facilities, you’ll want to shop around. Obviously you’ll want choose the cheaper one if possible.

Second, nothing is stopping you from getting in the car or hoping a cheap flight to a state where MRIs might be cheaper. Think of it as domestic medical tourism!