Knee MRI (with and without contrast) at CHI Saint Joseph Health - Saint Joseph Mount Sterling

225 FALCON DR, Mt. Sterling, KY · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1679679146

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Feb 28, 2026 · Ingested Sep 10, 2026

$1,235.78

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.

$3,372.00

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.

$335.79 with Wellcare vs $2,223.13 with Multiplan — 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
Wellcare Medicare|All Plans $335.79 ↓ -73%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $335.79 ↓ -73%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $335.79 ↓ -73%
United Medicare|All Plans $342.51 ↓ -72%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $345.86 ↓ -72%
Passport by Molina Medicare|All Plans $352.58 ↓ -71%
Wellcare Medicaid|All Plans $511.32 ↓ -59%
Aetna Medicaid|Better Health $561.89 ↓ -55%
Humana Medicaid|All Plans $567.51 ↓ -54%
United Medicaid|All Plans $573.13 ↓ -54%
Passport by Molina Medicaid|All Plans $573.13 ↓ -54%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|All Plans $589.99 ↓ -52%
CareSource Commercial|All Plans $671.58 ↓ -46%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Pathway $943.00 ↓ -24%
Humana Commercial|All Plans $1,050.49 ↓ -15%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|HMO PPO $1,116.00 ↓ -10%
United Commercial|Non-Options $1,242.00 ↑ +1%
United Commercial|Options $1,242.00 ↑ +1%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $1,636.81 ↑ +32%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $1,636.81 ↑ +32%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $1,636.81 ↑ +32%
Multiplan Commercial|All Plans $2,223.13 ↑ +80%

Visitor-reported prices

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Knee MRI (with and without contrast) at other Kentucky hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
CHI Saint Joseph Health - Saint Joseph Berea Berea $1,644.77 $941.38 – $3,104.92
CHI Saint Joseph Health - Saint Joseph London London $1,319.58 $528.08 – $3,365.18
CHI Saint Joseph Health - Saint Joseph East Lexington $1,079.30 $567.00 – $2,445.17
CHI Saint Joseph Health - Saint Joseph Hospital Lexington $1,154.16 $567.00 – $2,229.50
CHI Saint Joseph Health - Flaget Memorial Hospital Bardstown $2,090.01 $868.95 – $4,482.66
Adventhealth Manchester Manchester $5,540.18 $327.35 – $327.35

All Kentucky hospitals for this procedure →