Chromosome banding study 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

$235.95

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.

$605.00

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.

$68.60 with Aetna vs $251.76 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 $68.60 ↓ -71%
Bcbs Medicare Managed Care Plan $69.97 ↓ -70%
Cigna Medicare Managed Care Plan $72.03 ↓ -69%
Caresource Medicare Managed Care Plan $73.40 ↓ -69%
Unitedhealthcare All Commercial Plans $120.18 ↓ -49%
Ambetter Select Exchange $120.74 ↓ -49%
Aetna Hmo/Pos/Ppo $123.40 ↓ -48%
Oscar Healthplan Exchange $126.91 ↓ -46%
Caresource Exchange $134.46 ↓ -43%
Cigna Hmo $214.07 ↓ -9%
Cigna Ppo $214.07 ↓ -9%
Bcbs Hmo/Pos $237.36 ↑ +1%
Bcbs Ppo $251.76 ↑ +7%

Visitor-reported prices

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Chromosome banding study at other Georgia hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Wellstar Cobb Hospital Austell $235.95 $68.60 – $126.91
Wellstar Douglas Hospital Douglasville $235.95 $68.60 – $126.91
Wellstar Kennestone Hospital Marietta $235.95 $68.60 – $126.91
Wellstar MCG Health Augusta $235.95 $68.60 – $214.07
Wellstar North Fulton Hospital Roswell $235.95 $68.60 – $126.91
Wellstar Roosevelt Long Term Acute Care at Warm Springs P O Box 280 $235.95 not published
Wellstar Spalding Regional Hospital Griffin $235.95 $68.60 – $134.46
Wellstar Sylvan Grove Hospital Jackson $235.95 $120.18 – $237.36

All Georgia hospitals for this procedure →