Specimen fat stain at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center
5555 West Thunderbird Road, Glendale, AZ · Banner Health · · NPI 1154355188
$3.76
Cash price Discounted cash price What a hospital charges a self-pay patient who pays directly, without going through insurance — usually well below the gross charge. Example: A CT scan has a $3,200 gross charge but an $850 discounted cash price. Ask for it by name when scheduling — hospitals don't always advertise it up front.
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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
$18.00
Gross charge Gross charge (chargemaster price) The hospital's full, undiscounted list price — pulled from its internal "chargemaster" price list. Almost no one actually pays this. Example: A chest X-ray has a gross charge of $1,450. The same hospital's discounted cash price for the same X-ray is $180 — the gross charge mostly anchors negotiations, not what patients pay.
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The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$5.88 with Wellpoint vs $72.99 with Mercy Care — same scan, same building. Share
Negotiated rates by payer
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Negotiated rate
The price a specific insurance plan agreed to pay the hospital for a service — it varies by insurer, and even by plan within the same insurer.
Example: The same knee MRI has a negotiated rate of $904 with one insurer's PPO plan and $1,509 with another's — identical hospital, identical scan.
Full explanation →
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Negotiated rate
The price a specific insurance plan agreed to pay the hospital for a service — it varies by insurer, and even by plan within the same insurer.
Example: The same knee MRI has a negotiated rate of $904 with one insurer's PPO plan and $1,509 with another's — identical hospital, identical scan.
Full explanation →Payer ?Payer The insurance company footing the bill — Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Medicare, and so on. Example: "Blue Cross Blue Shield" is the payer. Its negotiated rate for an MRI might be $904, while a different payer's negotiated rate for the same scan is $1,509. Full explanation → |
Plan ?Plan The specific product an insurer sells — e.g. "Blue Cross PPO 500" — which sets your deductible, coinsurance and negotiated rates. Example: Two people both insured by Aetna can owe very different amounts for the same MRI: $50 with an HMO plan's flat copay, or the full $1,200 toward a high-deductible PPO plan's unmet deductible. Full explanation → |
Negotiated rate | vs. cash |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wellpoint | Medicare Advantage HMO | $5.88 | ↑ +56% |
| Aetna | Medicare Advantage | $5.88 | ↑ +56% |
| Arizona Physicians IPA | Medicaid | $5.88 | ↑ +56% |
| Arizona Physicians IPA | Medicare Advantage | $5.88 | ↑ +56% |
| Banner Health | Medicare Advantage | $5.88 | ↑ +56% |
| Banner University Health Plan | AZ Medicaid - AHCCCS | $5.88 | ↑ +56% |
| Banner University Health Plan | Medicare Advantage | $5.88 | ↑ +56% |
| Banner University Health Plan | University Family Plan | $5.88 | ↑ +56% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona | Medicare Advantage | $5.88 | ↑ +56% |
| Care 1st | Medicare Advantage | $5.88 | ↑ +56% |
| Cigna Healthcare of Arizona, Inc. | HMO Medicare Advantage Plan | $5.88 | ↑ +56% |
| Cigna Healthcare of Arizona, Inc. | PPO Medicare Advantage Plan | $5.88 | ↑ +56% |
| Gila River Health Care Corporation | Managed Care Program | $5.88 | ↑ +56% |
| Health Choice Arizona, Inc. | Medicaid | $5.88 | ↑ +56% |
| Health Choice Arizona, Inc. | Medicare Advantage | $5.88 | ↑ +56% |
| Health Net | Medicaid | $5.88 | ↑ +56% |
| Kaiser Foundation Health Plan | Medicare Advantage | $5.88 | ↑ +56% |
| Mercy Care | Medicaid | $5.88 | ↑ +56% |
| Mercy Care | Mercy Care Advantage | $5.88 | ↑ +56% |
| TriWest Healthcare Alliance Corp - VA CCN | VA Community Care Network | $5.88 | ↑ +56% |
| United Healthcare | Medicare Advantage | $5.88 | ↑ +56% |
| UPMC Health Plan | Medicare Advantage | $5.88 | ↑ +56% |
| Aetna | Banner Employee Plans | $6.05 | ↑ +61% |
| Humana | Medicare Advantage | $6.06 | ↑ +61% |
| Devoted Health Services | Medicare Advantage | $6.17 | ↑ +64% |
| Carelon | Medicare Advantage | $6.17 | ↑ +64% |
| Hospice of the Valley | Medicare | $6.30 | ↑ +68% |
| Arizona Priority Care | Alignment Health Plans Medicare Advantage/Eternal Health Plan Medicare/SCAN Health Plan Medicare | $6.47 | ↑ +72% |
| Gold Kidney Health Plan | Medicare Advantage | $6.47 | ↑ +72% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona | Medicare Supplemental Senior Preferred | $7.86 | ↑ +109% |
| Aetna | Qualified Health Plan | $8.00 | ↑ +113% |
| Plotkin Health | Plotkin Health | $8.10 | ↑ +115% |
| National Healthcare Solutions Inc (NHSI) and VIP Universal Medical Insurance Group (VUMI) | NHSI VUMI | $8.10 | ↑ +115% |
| United Healthcare | Individual Exchange | $8.23 | ↑ +119% |
| Health Net | Commerical Exchange Product | $8.70 | ↑ +131% |
| Health Choice Arizona, Inc. | ACA Health Plan | $8.82 | ↑ +135% |
| Aetna | Medical Rental | $9.49 | ↑ +152% |
| Oscar Health Plan | Commercial | $9.70 | ↑ +158% |
| Quiktrip Corporation | Commercial | $9.72 | ↑ +159% |
| Cigna Healthcare of Arizona, Inc. | LocalFlex | $10.31 | ↑ +174% |
| United Healthcare | UHC Doctor's Plan | $10.88 | ↑ +189% |
| Cigna Healthcare of Arizona, Inc. | Commercial | $11.46 | ↑ +205% |
| United Healthcare | UHC Core | $12.03 | ↑ +220% |
| Arizona Medical Network | Commercial | $12.60 | ↑ +235% |
| United Healthcare | Commercial | $13.23 | ↑ +252% |
| Provider Network of America | Commercial | $13.50 | ↑ +259% |
| Aetna | Joint Venture | $19.75 | ↑ +425% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona | BXBSAZ Neighborhood | $20.19 | ↑ +437% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona | BCBSAZ MaricopaFocus | $20.19 | ↑ +437% |
| Aetna | Designated Group | $20.98 | ↑ +458% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona | BCBSAZ Alliance/Blue HPN | $21.54 | ↑ +473% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona | BXBSAZ Alliance CHS | $22.62 | ↑ +502% |
| Aetna | Broad Network | $24.68 | ↑ +556% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona | BCBSAZ Workers Comp | $26.93 | ↑ +616% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona | Commercial | $26.93 | ↑ +616% |
| Mercy Care | Mercy Care Advantage/Mercy Care Plan | $72.99 | ↑ +1841% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Specimen fat stain at other Arizona hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banner University Medical Center Phoenix | Phoenix | $3.10 | $5.88 – $13.50 |
| Banner University Medical Center Tucson | Tucson | $3.69 | $5.88 – $14.40 |
| Banner University Medical Center South | Tucson | $3.19 | $5.88 – $14.40 |
| Banner Baywood Medical Center | Mesa | $10.46 | $5.88 – $13.50 |
| Banner Boswell Medical Center | Sun City | $2.90 | $5.88 – $14.40 |
| Banner Casa Grande Medical Center | Casa Grande | $5.17 | $5.88 – $13.50 |
| Banner Del Webb Medical Center | Sun City West | $3.51 | $5.88 – $14.40 |
| Banner Desert Medical Center | Mesa | $3.58 | $5.88 – $13.50 |