Adventures in MRI Pricing in Houston

I need an MRI of my knee. My doctor's office scheduled me for Methodist Imaging. They ran my insurance and quoted me a co-pay of $986 since I haven't reached my out- of -pocket limit for the year. I thought that was really expensive so I remembered a thread here on /Houston about better prices for MRIs. I took the advice there and called Houston Medical Imaging. They ran my insurance for the SAME code but since they aren't affiliated with a hospital, they charge me as an out-patient and quoted me a $35 copay. THEN just for fun, I checked the cash prices at the same places.

FOUR prices for the EXACT same MRI procedure:

Methodist Imaging (hospital affiliated) MRI w/insurance – $986 without insurance $2,874

Houston Medical Imaging (non-hospital affiliated) MRI w/insurance – $35 without insurance $450.

That's insanity!! The exact same thing ranges from $35 to almost $3,000!! INSANITY!