Insert cath pleura without image at Wellstar MCG Health

1120 15Th Street, Augusta, GA · Wellstar Health System · · NPI 1760875330

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Apr 1, 2026 · Ingested Aug 12, 2026

$3,381.30

Cash price

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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.

Full explanation →

What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$8,670.00

Gross charge

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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.

Full explanation →

The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$1,681.57 with Aetna vs $6,117.72 with Bcbs — 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 →

Payer
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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
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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
Aetna Medicare Managed Care Plan $1,681.57 ↓ -50%
Bcbs Medicare Managed Care Plan $1,715.21 ↓ -49%
Unitedhealthcare Individual Exchange Payer Appendix Exchange $1,738.00 ↓ -49%
Select Health Medicare Managed Care Plan $1,748.84 ↓ -48%
Absolute Total Care Medicare Managed Care Plan $1,765.65 ↓ -48%
Clover Medicare Managed Care Plan $1,799.28 ↓ -47%
Molina Marketplace Exchange $1,933.81 ↓ -43%
Bcbs Hie/Pathways Exchange $1,955.99 ↓ -42%
Centurion Ga Dept. Of Corrections Medicare Managed Care Plan $2,186.05 ↓ -35%
The Care Network All Commercial Plans $2,522.36 ↓ -25%
Cigna Hmo $2,572.00 ↓ -24%
Oscar Healthplan Exchange $2,858.68 ↓ -15%
Naphcare All Commercial Plans $2,942.75 ↓ -13%
Peachstate Ambetter Exchange $3,110.91 ↓ -8%
Unitedhealthcare All Payer Appendix All Commercial Plans $3,136.00 ↓ -7%
Caresource Exchange $3,295.88 ↓ -3%
Aetna Hmo/Pos/Ppo $4,714.00 ↑ +39%
Bcbs Anthem - Copps Hmo/Pos $4,745.59 ↑ +40%
Bcbs Anthem - Copps Ppo $6,117.72 ↑ +81%

Visitor-reported prices

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Insert cath pleura without image at other Georgia hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Wellstar Cobb Hospital Austell $3,381.30 $1,949.06 – $5,272.00
Wellstar Douglas Hospital Douglasville $3,381.30 $1,931.53 – $5,272.00
Wellstar Kennestone Hospital Marietta $3,381.30 $1,949.06 – $5,272.00
Wellstar North Fulton Hospital Roswell $3,381.30 $1,949.06 – $5,272.00
Wellstar Paulding Hospital Hiram $3,381.30 $1,949.06 – $5,272.00
Wellstar Roosevelt Long Term Acute Care at Warm Springs P O Box 280 $3,381.30 not published
Wellstar Spalding Regional Hospital Griffin $3,381.30 $1,924.71 – $5,272.00
Wellstar Sylvan Grove Hospital Jackson $3,381.30 $2,572.00 – $5,371.00

All Georgia hospitals for this procedure →