The cost of CT scans can vary widely depending on where patients receive them, reports NPR  in a recent case study.

Rick Davis, co-owner of Summerlin, says his center is small and independent, so he doesn’t have much bargaining power. That means insurance companies pretty much dictate what he can charge for a scan. In Hynden’s case that was $268, including the cost of a radiologist to read the images.

Ultimately, what Medicare decides to pay for a scan sets the standard. “The Medicare fee schedule is what all the other companies use as their guideline,” Davis tells me as he gives me a tour of Summerlin. “It’s basically the bible. It’s what everyone goes by.”

Get the full story at NPR.