Full body scans are available through a growing number of private screening companies, hospital-based executive health programs, and local imaging centers. Most people pay out of pocket, since insurance rarely covers scans ordered without a specific medical reason. Prices start around $900 and climb past $2,000 depending on what’s included.
Private Screening Companies
The fastest-growing option is direct-to-consumer MRI screening. Companies like Prenuvo, Ezra, and SimonMed Longevity operate in major metro areas and let you book online without a doctor’s referral. These companies use MRI rather than CT, which means no radiation exposure. MRI relies on magnetic energy and does not appear to damage DNA or increase cancer risk.
SimonMed Longevity, for example, offers three tiers. Their baseline scan covers the chest, abdomen, pelvis, and liver fat content, plus sex-specific screening (prostate for men, pelvic organs for women), takes about 30 minutes, and costs $899. Adding brain and neck imaging bumps the price to $1,599 and extends the scan to roughly 45 minutes. Their most comprehensive option includes all of that plus full spine imaging and arterial scans of the head and neck for $2,199 and about 60 minutes in the machine. Prenuvo and Ezra follow a similar pricing structure, generally ranging from $1,000 to $2,500 depending on coverage area.
These companies are concentrated in cities like New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, and Miami, though they’re expanding. Check each provider’s website for current locations near you.
Hospital Executive Health Programs
Major academic medical centers offer full body screening as part of comprehensive health assessments, sometimes called executive physicals. These tend to be more thorough (and more expensive) than standalone scans because they bundle imaging with a full day of testing.
Mount Sinai’s Full-Day Comprehensive Health Assessment, for instance, includes CT imaging of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis alongside a coronary artery calcium score, exercise stress echocardiogram, carotid ultrasound, lab work, dermatology evaluation, audiology screening, and nutritional counseling. These programs typically cost several thousand dollars and are often paid for by employers as a perk for executives. Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic, and Johns Hopkins offer similar packages. The advantage here is that a physician coordinates all your results in one visit rather than handing you a report to interpret on your own.
Local Imaging Centers
If you don’t live near a branded screening company or academic hospital, independent imaging centers can perform the same scans. Many radiology practices now advertise preventive or “longevity” MRI packages. The key is finding a facility with proper accreditation.
The American College of Radiology maintains a searchable online directory of accredited imaging facilities at acr.org. You can search by ZIP code, city, or facility name. Accredited centers have met standards for equipment quality, staff qualifications, and image interpretation. Some facilities carry additional designations for specific types of imaging, such as breast, lung, or prostate cancer screening. Starting your search here helps you avoid lower-quality operations.
MRI vs. CT: Which Type of Scan
Most elective full body scans now use MRI, and for good reason. MRI produces no ionizing radiation, while a single chest CT delivers about 7 millisieverts of radiation, roughly 70 times the dose of a standard chest X-ray. A study tracking over 31,000 patients across 22 years found that people who had multiple CT scans saw their cancer risk increase by 2.7% to 12% above baseline. For a one-time screening with no symptoms, MRI is the safer choice.
CT still has a role in specific screening contexts. Coronary artery calcium scoring, for example, requires CT and delivers a relatively low dose. Some executive health programs use CT for chest, abdomen, and pelvis imaging because it’s faster and excels at detecting lung nodules and calcifications. If a program uses CT, it’s worth asking why and whether MRI is an alternative.
What These Scans Actually Screen For
A standard whole-body MRI protocol covers the head, neck, chest, abdomen, and pelvis. The scan looks for early-stage tumors in organs like the liver, pancreas, kidneys, prostate, ovaries, and uterus. Beyond cancer, it can identify aneurysms, organ enlargement, fatty liver disease, spinal abnormalities, and bone marrow irregularities. Fat-content mapping helps distinguish benign growths from potentially malignant ones in the liver, adrenal glands, ovaries, and bone marrow.
Extended protocols add dedicated brain imaging (useful for detecting tumors, aneurysms, or white matter changes), full spine imaging for disc herniations and compression fractures, and sometimes lower limb coverage. Breast MRI and arterial scans of the head and neck are other common add-ons. Which package you choose depends on your personal and family health history.
What to Expect on Scan Day
MRI scans require you to lie still inside a tube-shaped machine. For a full body scan, expect to be on the table for 30 to 60 minutes depending on the package. You’ll hear loud knocking and buzzing sounds; most facilities provide headphones or earplugs. If you’re claustrophobic, ask about open MRI machines or whether the facility offers mild sedation.
You’ll need to remove all metal before entering the room: jewelry, watches, glasses, hairpins, hearing aids, underwire bras, dentures, and even clothing labeled as antimicrobial or containing silver technology. Metal implants, pacemakers, and certain medical devices can be dangerous in an MRI machine, so disclose these during scheduling. Some implants are MRI-compatible, but the facility needs to verify this in advance.
Fasting requirements vary. Some protocols ask you to avoid solid food for four hours beforehand, though water is usually fine. If contrast dye is used (more common with CT than MRI), the fasting window is stricter. Your facility will provide specific prep instructions when you book.
Cost and Insurance Coverage
Elective full body scans are almost never covered by insurance. Health insurers require that imaging be ordered by a physician and deemed medically necessary, meaning it addresses a diagnosed condition, monitors a known problem, or evaluates an acute injury. A scan ordered purely for screening in someone without symptoms or specific risk factors doesn’t meet that threshold.
Out-of-pocket prices for standalone MRI screening range from about $900 for a basic torso scan to $2,500 or more for head-to-toe coverage. Executive health programs at academic medical centers can run $5,000 and up because they bundle imaging with a full suite of other tests. Some employers cover these as part of benefits packages. A few screening companies offer payment plans or HSA/FSA eligibility, so it’s worth asking.
The False Positive Problem
Before booking a scan, it helps to understand the trade-offs. A systematic review of whole-body MRI screening studies found that about 32% of people who underwent a scan had at least one finding flagged as critical or indeterminate. The pooled false positive rate across studies was 16%, meaning roughly one in six people received a concerning finding that turned out to be nothing after further testing.
Those follow-up tests, which can include biopsies, additional imaging, blood work, and specialist visits, carry their own costs, stress, and occasional risks. The American College of Radiology has stated it does not currently recommend total body screening for people without symptoms, risk factors, or family history suggesting underlying disease. Their concern is that these scans frequently surface non-specific findings that lead to expensive follow-up without improving health outcomes. No long-term study has yet verified that routine full body screening extends life.
None of this means the scans are worthless. For people with strong family histories of cancer or known genetic risk factors, whole-body MRI has proven effective at detecting tumors early enough for curative treatment. The question is whether the scan makes sense for your specific situation, and whether you’re prepared for the possibility of ambiguous results that require further investigation.