Ablation cryo retro lymph node at Wellstar Paulding Hospital

2518 Jimmy Lee Smith Parkway, Hiram, GA · Wellstar Health System · · NPI 1457329435

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

$1,948.83

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.

$4,997.00

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.

$448.11 with Aetna vs $3,391.00 with Aetna — 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 $448.11 ↓ -77%
Bcbs Medicare Managed Care Plan $457.07 ↓ -77%
Cigna Medicare Managed Care Plan $470.51 ↓ -76%
Caresource Medicare Managed Care Plan $479.47 ↓ -75%
Ambetter Select Exchange $788.67 ↓ -60%
Oscar Healthplan Exchange $829.00 ↓ -57%
Caresource Exchange $878.29 ↓ -55%
Bcbs Shbp Other Commercial Plan $1,327.74 ↓ -32%
Bcbs Hmo/Pos $1,682.17 ↓ -14%
Unitedhealthcare All Commercial Plans $2,665.00 ↑ +37%
Aetna Hmo/Pos/Ppo $3,391.00 ↑ +74%

Visitor-reported prices

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Ablation cryo retro lymph node at other Georgia hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Wellstar Cobb Hospital Austell $1,948.83 $448.11 – $2,665.00
Wellstar Douglas Hospital Douglasville $1,948.83 $444.08 – $2,665.00
Wellstar Kennestone Hospital Marietta $1,948.83 $448.11 – $2,665.00
Wellstar MCG Health Augusta $1,948.83 $386.61 – $757.75
Wellstar North Fulton Hospital Roswell $1,948.83 $448.11 – $2,665.00
Wellstar Roosevelt Long Term Acute Care at Warm Springs P O Box 280 $1,948.83 not published
Wellstar Spalding Regional Hospital Griffin $1,948.83 $442.51 – $2,665.00
Wellstar Sylvan Grove Hospital Jackson $1,948.83 $1,225.32 – $3,391.00

All Georgia hospitals for this procedure →