because you mentioned insurance and seems you have your heart set on x rays, i’ll say this... she seems fine now, therefore i might slow down my approach and see what the vet says based on their physical exam. neck and back pain can become very complex very quickly. simple x rays can turn into the x rays themselves, possible sedation, having them sent out to a radiologist, pain meds, bloodwork prior to starting the meds and sometimes after depending on the drug.... all of this may or may not produce any answers - there are things that don’t show up on x rays. next will be a neuro consult... their pain point test is way more involved and if your GSD is a big baby like all of mine have been - by the time they get towards the end of the test your dog may cry or wince any amount of pressure. OR your dog has a high pain tolerance. both responses can result in the exam being inconclusive, requiring more advanced diagnostics (mri, ct scan, spinal tap, etc).... which means general anesthesia and so on. in CA everything mentioned is easily $5-6k+
so... make sure you are very clear on your insurance policy and also not planning to switch companies. of course switching companies there is the obvious issues of pre existing conditions... but even within your own insurance - will they cover everything mentioned? do you have the deductible and remaining %/costs that will fall on you? some insurance will only cover what’s absolutely necessary at the time... others will hit you later if decide to stop diagnostics at any point w/o an answer/diagnosis and if Mei were to have any back issues later they can refuse to cover it feeling it was related to this issue that you stopped pursuing.
just some things to think about....
also make sure your vet is clear on how things need to be documented for insurance purposes - this could make or break your claim later.
best of luck.