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All procedures › Tailbone X-ray (2 or more views)

Virginia Mason Medical Center

SeattleKing CountyAcute Care Hospitals

Tailbone X-ray (2 or more views)

Quality: 5 of 5 (CMS overall rating)Earliest available date: call (206) 223-6600

What you may pay

With insurance from an employer or private plan
$212 – $325At least one plan lists 2 separate amounts for this procedure. They may be parts of one bill that you pay together (for example the hospital’s fee and the fee of the doctor who reads a scan) or alternatives (inpatient or outpatient). We don’t show one price or compare it until we can tell which; every line is listed below. Ask the hospital which lines apply to you.
Paying yourself (cash price)
$182 Lower than typicalTypical hospital’s fee at 38 hospitals we cover: $198 to $319.

These are prices the hospital published, not a quote. With insurance you usually pay part of the rate (your deductible and coinsurance); the estimator on the procedure page works it out. A higher price does not mean better care.

Doctors usually bill separately. At most hospitals these are the hospital’s own charges. The surgeon, radiologist, anesthesiologist or pathologist usually sends a separate bill: ask each of them for an estimate too.

Source: Virginia Mason Medical Center’s own price file. CareNavIQ last refreshed prices on 2026-11-05.

Next step: ask the hospital for a Good Faith Estimate for this procedure (phone number above).

Bills to expect

A procedure usually brings several bills, each from whoever did that part of your care. Here is what to expect, with what Traditional Medicare allows for each doctor’s part in this area (King County) and an estimate for private plans.

BillWho sends itHow likelyStatusTraditional Medicare allowsPrivate plans (estimate)
Hospital's feeThe X-ray: equipment and technologistThe hospitalExpectedPublished by the hospital: the prices above——
RadiologistReading the X-ray and writing the reportThe radiology groupExpectedBilled separately; amount estimated$9$11 to $16
Ordering doctor's visitThe visit where the X-ray is ordered or the results are explainedYour doctorPossibleBilled separately; not priced——

What you’d pay for these bills

Adds up your share of the hospital’s bill and the expected doctors’ bills above (not the possible ones). What you type stays in your browser.

Your coverage

Your plan’s summary of benefits says how it charges for each kind of care. Leave these as they are if it uses the deductible and coinsurance.

The hospital's bill
The bill from the doctor doing the procedure

You pay about $48 to $49 of about $239 to $244 billed to your plan.

Your share of the hospital's bill is about $46; the rest is your share of the doctors' bills. The doctors' bills are estimates. Enter your out-of-pocket maximum to see whether you'd reach it. Assumes everyone is in your network.

How each bill comes to you

Each provider sends a claim to your plan. It applies its allowed amount, then your deductible, copay and coinsurance, and sends you an Explanation of Benefits. Then the provider bills you the “You owe” line. Bills are in the order your plan is assumed to process them, the hospital first. The doctors' bills are estimates.

Show the bills at
  1. Hospital's feeSent by the hospital
    The provider's charge
    $356
    Insurance adjustmentWritten off by the provider: you don't owe it.
    −$128
    Allowed amountWhat the insurer counts for this bill.
    $228
    Your plan pays
    $182
    Your coinsurance
    $45.60
    You oweThe provider bills you this after the insurer pays.
    $45.60
  2. RadiologistSent by the radiology group
    The provider's chargeDoctors don't publish their charges; in network it doesn't change what you owe.
    Not published
    Allowed amountWhat the insurer counts for this bill.
    $10.74
    Your plan pays
    $8.59
    Your coinsurance
    $2.15
    You oweThe provider bills you this after the insurer pays.
    $2.15
All bills: allowed amounts
$239
Your plan pays
$191
You owe in all
$47.75
Who owes what, and when you might owe more
  • The insurance adjustment Written off

    An in-network provider agrees to accept your plan's allowed amount. The difference between its charge and that amount is written off: you don't owe it, and it shouldn't appear on your bill.

  • Deductible You pay

    What you pay each year before your plan starts sharing costs. It is applied to bills in the order your plan processes them, so the first bill can take all of it.

  • Copay You pay

    A fixed amount for a kind of care, such as a hospital stay or a surgeon's visit. Your plan's summary of benefits says whether it applies before or after the deductible, and whether a stay's copay is per day.

  • Coinsurance You pay

    Your percentage of the allowed amount after the deductible, such as 20%.

  • Out-of-pocket maximum Your plan pays

    Once your deductible, copays and coinsurance for the year reach it, your plan pays 100% of covered in-network care for the rest of the plan year.

  • Each provider bills separately You pay

    The hospital, surgeon, anesthesia group, radiologist and pathologist each send their own claim and their own bill. All of them count toward the same deductible and yearly maximum.

  • Out of network and surprise bills It depends

    A provider outside your plan's network can bill you the difference between its charge and what your plan pays (a balance bill). It can't for emergency care, or when anesthesia, radiology, pathology, an assistant surgeon or a hospital doctor treats you at an in-network hospital: under federal law (the No Surprises Act) and, for Washington-regulated plans and self-funded plans that opt in, RCW 48.49, those groups cannot balance bill you. Your deductible and coinsurance still apply, at in-network amounts.

  • Not covered, or no prior authorization It depends

    If your plan decides a service isn't covered, or it needed prior authorization that wasn't approved, the plan pays nothing for it and the provider may bill you. Ask the provider to get prior authorization before your care. If an in-network provider didn't get it, the provider's contract may stop it billing you: ask your plan before you pay.

  • A second insurance It depends

    If you have a second plan, the first plan pays first and the second may then pay some or all of your share. These estimates use one plan only.

  • Wait for the Explanation of Benefits You pay

    After each claim your insurer sends an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) with the allowed amount, what it paid and what you may owe. It is not a bill. Pay a provider's bill only when it matches the EOB's “you may owe” amount, and ask the provider or insurer about any difference.

  • Help from the hospital It depends

    Washington hospitals must give free or discounted care based on income, including deductibles and coinsurance for insured patients: free up to 200% or 300% of the federal poverty level depending on the hospital, with discounts above that (RCW 70.170). You can apply after you get a bill. It covers the hospital's bill; doctor groups that bill separately have their own policies.

  • If you pay yourself instead You pay

    You can choose not to use your insurance and pay the cash price; then nothing counts toward your deductible. Ask each provider for a Good Faith Estimate. If a bill is $400 or more above it, you can dispute it within 120 days.

Get it confirmed before your care

The hospital, each doctor’s group and your insurer can each confirm their part in writing. Here is a request for each one, ready to send from your own email, and what to say if you’d rather call. Nothing you do here is saved.

Coming: CareNavIQ will be able to send these for you, follow up, and tell you when everything is confirmed, with your permission.

How you’ll pay

Virginia Mason Medical Center

The largest bill.

Request to send

Subject: Estimate request: tailbone x-ray (2 or more views) at Virginia Mason Medical Center

Hello,

I am planning a tailbone x-ray (2 or more views) (billing code CPT 72220) at Virginia Mason Medical Center.

Under Washington law (RCW 70.01.030), I am asking for a written estimate of the hospital's charges, with the billing codes you plan to use.

Name: [YOUR NAME]
Date of birth: [DATE OF BIRTH]
Insurance: [PLAN NAME], member ID [MEMBER ID]
Planned date: [DATE, IF KNOWN]

Thank you.

Replace the words in [brackets] with your details before you send it.

Open in my email

If you call. Call (206) 223-6600 and ask for the price estimate or patient financial services line. Say: "I'd like a written estimate for my tailbone x-ray (2 or more views)."

0 of 3 sent. Washington law gives you the right to these estimates but sets no deadline: if you haven't heard back in five business days, send it again or call.

How these are worked out. Medicare amounts are CMS’s 2026 physician fee schedule for this area, at the rate for care in a hospital. Private-plan estimates are 118% to 179% of Medicare for doctors (the range across 19 studies in KFF’s review of what private insurers pay) and 3 to 5 times Medicare for anesthesia (a published industry estimate). Anesthesia is paid by the minute, so its range assumes the time shown. Medicare pays an assistant at surgery 13.6% to 16% of the surgeon’s fee. Where we have your insurer’s own published rates for the doctors here (below), the estimator uses those for that insurer’s employer plans instead. Your plan’s own rates may be outside these ranges: ask each office for an estimate, and for its network status. At an in-network hospital, the anesthesia, radiology, pathology and assistant groups can’t charge you more than your in-network cost share, even if they are out of network (No Surprises Act).

43 published prices, grouped by who each price applies to.

Cash price 2 prices

The hospital's discounted price for patients paying without insurance.

PricePart of the billHospital’s descriptionHow it’s setSettingSource date
$182Hospital’s feeX-RAY SACRUM - COCCYX—Outpatient—
$182Hospital’s feeX-RAY SACRUM - COCCYX—Inpatient—

List price (before discounts) 2 prices

The hospital's full chargemaster price. Few patients pay this amount.

PricePart of the billHospital’s descriptionHow it’s setSettingSource date
$356Hospital’s feeX-RAY SACRUM - COCCYX—Outpatient—
$356Hospital’s feeX-RAY SACRUM - COCCYX—Inpatient—

Commercial insurance 21 prices

Rate negotiated with a private insurer or employer plan, including exchange and public-option plans.

PayerPlanPricePart of the billHospital’s descriptionHow it’s setSettingSource date
AetnaCommercial$212Hospital’s feeX-ray exam sacrum tailbonefee scheduleOutpatient—
AetnaCommercial$224Hospital’s feeX-RAY SACRUM - COCCYXpercent of total billed chargesOutpatient—
CignaCommercial$263Hospital’s feeX-RAY SACRUM - COCCYXpercent of total billed chargesOutpatient—
CignaCommercial$286Hospital’s feeX-ray exam sacrum tailbonecase rateOutpatient—
CignaLocal Plus$263Hospital’s feeX-RAY SACRUM - COCCYXpercent of total billed chargesOutpatient—
CignaLocal Plus$325Hospital’s feeX-ray exam sacrum tailbonecase rateOutpatient—
Coventry - First HealthCommercial$285Hospital’s feeX-RAY SACRUM - COCCYXpercent of total billed chargesInpatient—
Coventry - First HealthCommercial$285Hospital’s feeX-RAY SACRUM - COCCYXpercent of total billed chargesOutpatient—
First ChoiceCommercial$228Hospital’s feeX-RAY SACRUM - COCCYXpercent of total billed chargesInpatient—
First ChoiceCommercial$228Hospital’s feeX-RAY SACRUM - COCCYXpercent of total billed chargesOutpatient—
Kaiser Health PlanCommercial$215Hospital’s feeX-RAY SACRUM - COCCYXpercent of total billed chargesOutpatient—
Kaiser Health PlanCommercial$257Hospital’s feeX-ray exam sacrum tailbonefee scheduleOutpatient—
PremeraCommercial$214Hospital’s feeX-RAY SACRUM - COCCYXpercent of total billed chargesOutpatient—
PremeraCommercial$309Hospital’s feeX-ray exam sacrum tailbonecase rateOutpatient—
RegenceCommercial$249Hospital’s feeX-RAY SACRUM - COCCYXpercent of total billed chargesInpatient—
RegenceCommercial$249Hospital’s feeX-RAY SACRUM - COCCYXpercent of total billed chargesOutpatient—
RegenceCommercial$283Hospital’s feeX-ray exam sacrum tailbonecase rateOutpatient—
RegenceUniform Medical Plan$234Hospital’s feeX-ray exam sacrum tailbonecase rateOutpatient—
RegenceUniform Medical Plan$249Hospital’s feeX-RAY SACRUM - COCCYXpercent of total billed chargesInpatient—
RegenceUniform Medical Plan$249Hospital’s feeX-RAY SACRUM - COCCYXpercent of total billed chargesOutpatient—
United HealthcareCommercial$324Hospital’s feeX-ray exam sacrum tailbonecase rateOutpatient—

Medicare Advantage 18 prices

Rate for a private Medicare Advantage plan. Applies only to members of that plan.

Prices marked “below Medicare” are less than Traditional Medicare pays this hospital for the same code (under 80% of it, for Medicare Advantage plans). They may be one line of a bigger bill or a mistake in the hospital’s file: ask the plan for its rate.

PayerPlanPricePart of the billHospital’s descriptionHow it’s setSettingSource date
AetnaMedicare Advantage$100Hospital’s feeX-RAY EXAM SACRUM TAILBONEfee scheduleOutpatient—
AetnaMedicare Advantage$377Hospital’s feeX-RAY EXAM OF TAILBONEfee scheduleOutpatient—
AetnaMedicare Advantage HMO$5.69Below Medicare ($101)Hospital’s feeX-RAY EXAM OF TAILBONEfee scheduleOutpatient—
AetnaMedicare Advantage HMO$101Hospital’s feeX-ray exam sacrum tailbonecase rateOutpatient—
AetnaMedicare Advantage PPO$98.78Hospital’s feeX-ray exam sacrum tailbonecase rateOutpatient—
AetnaMedicare Advantage PPO$117Hospital’s feeX-RAY EXAM OF TAILBONEfee scheduleOutpatient—
Confluence HealthMedicare Advantage$78.78Below Medicare ($101)Hospital’s feeX-RAY EXAM OF TAILBONEfee scheduleOutpatient—
HumanaMedicare Advantage$95.91Hospital’s feeX-ray exam sacrum tailbonecase rateOutpatient—
Kaiser FoundationHP Medicare$95.91Hospital’s feeX-ray exam sacrum tailbonecase rateOutpatient—
MultiplanMedicare Advantage$38.55Below Medicare ($101)Hospital’s feeX-RAY EXAM OF TAILBONEfee scheduleOutpatient—
MultiplanMedicare Advantage$67.13Below Medicare ($101)Hospital’s feeX-ray exam sacrum tailbonecase rateOutpatient—
Optum Care NetworkMedicare Advantage$95.91Hospital’s feeX-ray exam sacrum tailbonecase rateOutpatient—
PremeraMedicare Advantage HMO/PPO$38.55Below Medicare ($101)Hospital’s feeX-RAY EXAM OF TAILBONEfee scheduleOutpatient—
PremeraMedicare Advantage HMO/PPO$95.91Hospital’s feeX-ray exam sacrum tailbonecase rateOutpatient—
RegenceMedicare Advantage$40.01Below Medicare ($101)Hospital’s feeX-RAY EXAM SACRUM TAILBONEfee scheduleOutpatient—
RegenceMedicare Advantage$81.52Hospital’s feeX-ray exam sacrum tailbonecase rateOutpatient—
Signal HealthMedicare Advantage$38.55Below Medicare ($101)Hospital’s feeX-RAY EXAM OF TAILBONEfee scheduleOutpatient—
United HealthcareMedicare Advantage$95.91Hospital’s feeX-ray exam sacrum tailbonecase rateOutpatient—

Doctors here who do this procedure

No doctor affiliated with Virginia Mason Medical Center billed Traditional Medicare for this often enough for CMS to publish it (11 or more patients a year). That doesn’t mean no one here does it. See all doctors and practices for this procedure.

See a price that looks wrong? Tell us about it.