MRIs are principally taken by technicians then a doctor will interpret them but the bulk of the operation isn't done by doctors and the techs are well paid but are paid less than a first year commercial airline pilot. IF you include all the maintenance and support around in airplane and around an MRI machine I think the airplane will be even further ahead.

[0] https://www.careerexplorer.com/careers/magnetic-resonance-im...

Thanks, I learned something today. I think the point still stands if you include the time of the radiologist and tech, capital and employment costs for MRI in the US are substantial.

I agree that it is a very strange comparison between MRI and a plane, I was just chiming in on the capital and employment cost for each could be comparable on a per trip basis, not that MRI prices are where they should be.

In my personal opinion, a major problem with US healthcare is a race to the top, where the newest and best care is sought irrespective of the price. A judgement call needs to made somewhere on cost/marginal benefit, and post-procedure reimbursement debates is the worst way to do it. CT machines can cost between 250K and 14 million, as I mentioned in a sibling post. Similarly, MRI costs can range from $170-$5,500 [1]. In the current system, almost nobody is incentivized to keep costs down. Doctors and insured patients want the best care, as costs are externalized to the insurance pool. Insurance companies want to maximize costs, because their profit margin is limited by a % of spending.

https://turquoise.health/service_offerings?q=MRI&location=90...

> A new MRI costs ~3 million,

You seem to be off by a factor of 5 or 10.

https://info.blockimaging.com/bid/92623/MRI-Machine-Cost-and...

I was quoting the number for a modern 3 tesla MRI machines, which would fall into the 500k+ range on your link. These are high end but not necessarily rare. For example, UCSF has 4 of these machines. These can easily be on the order of 3 million+ with installation

https://www.pasadenanow.com/main/lab-in-emerging-biomedical-...

Here is a link for a 7 million suite to house one of the machines https://www.dignityhealth.org/sacramento/about-us/press-cent...

While costs for these machines are going down, even more expensive 7 and 10 Tesla machines are starting to be installed, going up to $14 million

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-07182-7

3 T machines are not necessarily better, it depends on what they're trying to look at, getter a sharper image of noise is not useful.

Anyway, your estimate seems to be way off, basing it on a 6 year old puff piece for a cutting edge model that was deployed in a lab. The cost for a typical new MRI is more like $500k.

Do have any personal info here, because the first ten articles I read were up there and your article doesn’t negate it

Doesn't negate what?

If you ask "How much does a car cost?" The answer is not "Here are some articles about people buying Lamborghinis that cost $250,000".

Most people are using a middle of the road 1.5 T machine.

https://lbnmedical.com/how-much-does-an-mri-machine-cost/

I never said I was talking about averages ct machines any more than a brand new 787-9 is the average plane. You can get a 20 year 737 for a lot less than 200mil, and is probably closer to the average.

If your point is that MRIs less than 3T exist, I agree. If your point is that cheaper MRI exist, I agree. If your point is that nobody has spent 3 mil on a CT, then I disagree. A link showing the price of used machines 10-15 years old isn’t going to change that.