Brain MRI - a few questions about clinics

Hey there.

My neurologist just sent me off for a brain MRI, so I’m trying to figure out the best way to handle this. Does anyone have tips on where to get it done around New York City without dealing with insane wait times? I'm looking to skip the massive crowds if possible. Also, does anyone know which private clinics take Medicare? It would be great if I could just use my Medicare card to cover the scan instead of paying out of pocket.
Thanks!

Brandon Morgan said:Hey there.

My neurologist just sent me off for a brain MRI, so I’m trying to figure out the best way to handle this. Does anyone have tips on where to get it done around New York City without dealing with insane wait times? I'm looking to skip the massive crowds if possible. Also, does anyone know which private clinics take Medicare? It would be great if I could just use my Medicare card to cover the scan instead of paying out of pocket.
Thanks!

Look, if you try using a Medicare card at public hospitals, you’re looking at waiting up to 6 months. Honestly. You could check out Mayo Clinic—not sure what they charge, so maybe ask if they accept Medicare for an MRI. Then there's diagnosis 200-days-ahead; they had you scheduled right away, cost about $1,600, whereas Sun clinic wants $2,400 or $867.
And I haven't a clue what the deal is with Light clinic or Bat clinic.
Bottom line? You'll get an appointment much faster where you're willing to pay out of pocket.

Honestly, same here... if I had the cash, I wouldn't even bother with the doctor route 😉 That’s just not an option for me. I seriously don't have the money to be dropping stacks on stuff like this.
So, what now? Just sit around and wait six months? Great.
But look, I was wondering—does anyone know if any private clinics take Medicare? Like, if you can actually use your Medicare card there so you aren't paying out of pocket. I know Medic is around... And if anyone has been through this, let me know if there's any way to dodge the usual massive wait times.

Come on, don't just sit there being lazy—grab your phone and start hunting down every clinic's number you can find online. 😉
At Mayo Clinic, the waitlist is three months long. I booked my appointment back in May, and I won't be seen until August.
I tried going to a private facility once, and while they squeezed me in after about three weeks, I wouldn't go back there in a heartbeat. They told me my results were perfectly fine when they absolutely weren't; they completely missed a centimeter of new tumor tissue. 😢
Over at Neuron, you're looking at a five to six-month wait, and they’ll charge you $967 for the scan with contrast, or $3,200 if you want spectroscopy included.
Also, Sun doesn't accept Medicare referrals, so you're stuck paying cash out of pocket there.

Look, I’m not being lazy, for crying out loud. I'm asking questions. It's not like I'm just sitting around my house all day, staring at a screen and pinning all my hopes on some random thread on Reddit 🙄
And honestly? You didn't exactly make me feel better. I was over at Mercy Hospital for a scan at MIT and they told me everything looked fine too... 😢
Anyway, thanks for the heads up.

Brandon Morgan said:Look, I’m not being lazy, for crying out loud. I'm asking questions. It's not like I'm just sitting around my house all day, staring at a screen and pinning all my hopes on some random thread on Reddit 🙄
And honestly? You didn't exactly make me feel better. I was over at Mercy Hospital for a scan at MIT and they told me everything looked fine too... 😢
Anyway, thanks for the heads up.

My apologies, I think I was a bit harsh there regarding the whole "laziness" comment.🙈
The thing is, maybe those kinds of errors don't happen to them very often. But for me, it was unacceptable because I actually brought in my previous scans; they could have compared them to see exactly where the old tumor was located and focused their attention on that specific area. Instead, they missed a whole centimeter of a new tumor. I had a follow-up with a neurosurgeon scheduled for a month later. If the people at Mercy Hospital had caught that tumor when they did, I would have gone straight to the surgeon immediately. For my situation, speed is absolutely critical because this tumor progresses incredibly fast.😢

I believe someone mentioned to me once that neurosurgeons don't particularly care for the imaging coming out of local clinics like that, mostly because their equipment is outdated and the image quality isn't up to par.😢

Regardless, I suppose what the clinic writes down matters far less than what the specialist actually sees when you bring the scans to them.

I forgot to ask—are you dealing with any major symptoms that would require a CT scan, or has your neurologist expressed any specific concerns about what might be going on?
I’m asking because after my Nemertol treatment, I had to head over to the neurology clinic to get confirmation on a relapse. If you’re waiting on a referral through Medicare, you’re looking at a five to six-month wait, which is just ridiculous. However, if you opt to pay out of pocket, you can usually see someone within two or three days. In my case, I just paid upfront and then filed a claim with Medicare afterward to have them reimburse me. And wouldn't you know it, they actually paid me back.
If my test results had come back perfectly clear, they probably wouldn't have reimbursed the cost, but honestly, I've reached a point where I am no longer cutting corners when it comes to my health. 🙂

Look, here’s the deal: everything was processed neurologically—they even ordered a brain MRI because they were worried about MS. But turns out? It was all just psychological.
Getting an MRI at Diagnostic Center 2000 takes maybe ten minutes and $533. Plus, you can usually write it off on your taxes by the end of the year.
If I remember right, everyone raves about Diagnostic Center 2000. Personally, I’m claustrophobic as hell, so it helped having the technician or the radiologist right there in the room with me. I know they do CT scans covered by Medicare too. Honestly, I think even most neurologists trust their results.
Also, Quest Diagnostics—from what I can tell, they're linked with Mercy Hospital. If you pay out of pocket, you get seen immediately; if not, you're stuck waiting depending on what kind of test you need.
Maybe hospitals are more integrated now and can see where there's an opening—since everything is centralized through the system now, things might move faster, or maybe there's some kind of loophole, but feralridge3 might know more about that.
And seriously, why is your neurologist even sending you for a brain MRI in the first place?
Just call every private clinic in town.

I’ll look into what you mentioned tomorrow. And yeah, I’ve got a whole list of people I need to call.
It’s not even about being cheap or trying to save a buck on my health—I just don't have the cash sitting around right now, and my credit isn't exactly stellar either. So, there's no way around it; I’m stuck waiting.
My neurologist actually sent me in because some old issues I had have been getting worse lately. Now my eye won't stop twitching—like, my eyelid has been spasming constantly for over 20 days straight.

And regarding that whole "centralized" thing? Believe me, it’s a joke. It’s anything but centralized. Every single hospital has its own weird policies, its own set of rules, and its own dedicated fax number. With some places, you can still manage to book an appointment over the phone, but with others, forget it. Then you've got the ones where you send a fax and might get a call back the next day, and then there are those that actually reply via fax—which makes zero sense since nobody uses faxes anymore. It’s just a mountain of nonsense. Honestly, the whole system feels like it was designed to kill people rather than help them. You have to go through this massive, exhausting drama just to land a simple appointment. At least, that’s how it’s worked for me.

Brandon Morgan said:I’ll look into what you mentioned tomorrow. And yeah, I’ve got a whole list of people I need to call.
It’s not even about being cheap or trying to save a buck on my health—I just don't have the cash sitting around right now, and my credit isn't exactly stellar either. So, there's no way around it; I’m stuck waiting.
My neurologist actually sent me in because some old issues I had have been getting worse lately. Now my eye won't stop twitching—like, my eyelid has been spasming constantly for over 20 days straight.

And regarding that whole "centralized" thing? Believe me, it’s a joke. It’s anything but centralized. Every single hospital has its own weird policies, its own set of rules, and its own dedicated fax number. With some places, you can still manage to book an appointment over the phone, but with others, forget it. Then you've got the ones where you send a fax and might get a call back the next day, and then there are those that actually reply via fax—which makes zero sense since nobody uses faxes anymore. It’s just a mountain of nonsense. Honestly, the whole system feels like it was designed to kill people rather than help them. You have to go through this massive, exhausting drama just to land a simple appointment. At least, that’s how it’s worked for me.

It clearly varies from one hospital to the next. For me, it was super easy and fast—like, I waited just a few days for an ENT appointment, and then another follow-up—I can't even remember which one—within three weeks, even though usually you'd be waiting a month and a half.
One hospital works fine, but for the others, I'll probably just PM you and then reach out to different facilities.
You should try calling all the clinics we thought of, because maybe they've updated things and might actually accept a referral from Medicare.

Brandon Newman95 said:Look, here’s the deal: everything was processed neurologically—they even ordered a brain MRI because they were worried about MS. But turns out? It was all just psychological.
Getting an MRI at Diagnostic Center 2000 takes maybe ten minutes and $533. Plus, you can usually write it off on your taxes by the end of the year.
If I remember right, everyone raves about Diagnostic Center 2000. Personally, I’m claustrophobic as hell, so it helped having the technician or the radiologist right there in the room with me. I know they do CT scans covered by Medicare too. Honestly, I think even most neurologists trust their results.
Also, Quest Diagnostics—from what I can tell, they're linked with Mercy Hospital. If you pay out of pocket, you get seen immediately; if not, you're stuck waiting depending on what kind of test you need.
Maybe hospitals are more integrated now and can see where there's an opening—since everything is centralized through the system now, things might move faster, or maybe there's some kind of loophole, but feralridge3 might know more about that.
And seriously, why is your neurologist even sending you for a brain MRI in the first place?
Just call every private clinic in town.

I'm not entirely sure what you're getting at here. 🤷
Technically, they can move him up the queue if he pays out of pocket or if he gets admitted to the hospital and they send him off for diagnostic testing. But let's be realistic—they aren't going to admit him unless there is some genuinely serious issue.

Brandon Morgan said:I’ll look into what you mentioned tomorrow. And yeah, I’ve got a whole list of people I need to call.
It’s not even about being cheap or trying to save a buck on my health—I just don't have the cash sitting around right now, and my credit isn't exactly stellar either. So, there's no way around it; I’m stuck waiting.
My neurologist actually sent me in because some old issues I had have been getting worse lately. Now my eye won't stop twitching—like, my eyelid has been spasming constantly for over 20 days straight.

And regarding that whole "centralized" thing? Believe me, it’s a joke. It’s anything but centralized. Every single hospital has its own weird policies, its own set of rules, and its own dedicated fax number. With some places, you can still manage to book an appointment over the phone, but with others, forget it. Then you've got the ones where you send a fax and might get a call back the next day, and then there are those that actually reply via fax—which makes zero sense since nobody uses faxes anymore. It’s just a mountain of nonsense. Honestly, the whole system feels like it was designed to kill people rather than help them. You have to go through this massive, exhausting drama just to land a simple appointment. At least, that’s how it’s worked for me.

If that eyelid twitching gets any worse, you should head straight to the ER.
Don't you have anyone who can help you out a bit financially?

feralridge3 said:I'm not entirely sure what you're getting at here. 🤷
Technically, they can move him up the queue if he pays out of pocket or if he gets admitted to the hospital and they send him off for diagnostic testing. But let's be realistic—they aren't going to admit him unless there is some genuinely serious issue.

The ER—look, I'll shoot you a private message to explain—works perfectly fine. 🙂😉

feralridge3 said:I'm not entirely sure what you're getting at here. 🤷
Technically, they can move him up the queue if he pays out of pocket or if he gets admitted to the hospital and they send him off for diagnostic testing. But let's be realistic—they aren't going to admit him unless there is some genuinely serious issue.

I know. And even if he heads to the ER, he still needs a referral from his primary care doctor. As stupid as that sounds.

Brandon Newman95 said:I know. And even if he heads to the ER, he still needs a referral from his primary care doctor. As stupid as that sounds.

That isn't true if they show up when the GP's office is actually closed, like on a weekend. 😉

feralridge3 said:That isn't true if they show up when the GP's office is actually closed, like on a weekend. 😉

Not on weekends, sure, but during the week? Yeah, you still need it—unless they've gone and changed the rules at the ER.

Quest Diagnostics accepts insurance referrals. My daughter actually had her MRI done there using a referral we got from our local general hospital, and the whole process was seamless. We didn't have to shell out a dime, they squeezed her in quickly, and the doctor-patient interaction was top-notch. To top it off, we walked out with the results immediately after the scan, and thank god, everything came back clear.
I’m rooting for you to get some good news too. Best of luck.

Brandon Morgan

Have you placed your order yet?
When is it finally going to be your turn?

Does anyone actually know why they only recommend getting an MRI once a year if there’s no radiation involved? I mean—if it isn't ionizing—why the restriction?

Melissa Moore39 said:Does anyone actually know why they only recommend getting an MRI once a year if there’s no radiation involved? I mean—if it isn't ionizing—why the restriction?

I’ve never heard that before. 🤷
Where on earth did you hear that?
In the last 15 months alone, I've had four scans, and I'm heading back for my fifth one in about ten days.