There’s a problem outside of the insurance issue. Diagnostic testing requires an order/script from a health care practitioner like the pt’s PCP or specialist. A pt can’t walk into a diagnostic testing facility and say, “I need an MRI of my back.” The folks performing the test cannot legally perform it without that order/script, much in the same way a pharmacist cannot dispense prescription medication without a prescription. That’s outside of dealing with insurance not covering the testing without an order/script. The tech can’t legally perform it without one either.

Before having the MRI (any way you slice it, it’s an expensive test) you may try asking your PCP for a referral to a neurologist. Explain that your symptoms haven’t subsided at all in two weeks and that it is affecting your daily living and ability to concentrate and work. Hopefully that will kickstart your PCP into a STAT referral to neurology. A neurologist should be able to better assess the issues you are having.