CPT 70553 Imaging

Brain MRI — With and Without Contrast

What should this cost?

Medicare Pays

$322

National benchmark

Typical Range

$1000–$5000

What hospitals charge

Markup

Above Medicare rate

What this code means on your bill

A detailed MRI of the brain performed before and after contrast dye injection. The most comprehensive brain imaging.

Commonly billed for

Headache evaluation, seizure workup, tumor screening, MS diagnosis

What to watch for

Upcoding

If your visit seemed straightforward but you see a high-level code, the provider may have billed for a more complex service than what was performed. Compare the code level to the time you actually spent with the doctor.

Duplicate charges

Check if this code appears more than once on the same date of service. Unless you had the same procedure performed twice (rare), a duplicate is likely a billing error.

Price check

If you're being charged more than 6,000 for this service, it's significantly above the typical range. Request an itemized bill and compare against the Medicare rate of $322.

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Related billing codes

71045

Chest X-Ray — Single View

Medicare: $22

71046

Chest X-Ray — 2 Views

Medicare: $26

70551

Brain MRI — Without Contrast

Medicare: $218

72148

Lumbar Spine MRI — Without Contrast

Medicare: $248