Mid and Lower Back (Thoracolumbar Spine) X-ray at CHRISTUS Ochsner St. Patrick Hospital
524 Dr Michael Debakey Dr, Lake Charles, LA · Christushealth · · NPI 1629076468
not published by hospital
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.
not published by hospital
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.
$79.73 with Triwest vs $182.03 with United Healthcare — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Triwest | VA MM | $79.73 | — |
| Humana | Choicecare | $81.33 | — |
| Humana | Gold Choice MM | $81.36 | — |
| Humana | BH MM | $81.36 | — |
| Arcadian | MM | $81.36 | — |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana | MM | $81.36 | — |
| Aetna | MM | $81.36 | — |
| Vantage Health Plan Inc | Gold Plus MM | $81.36 | — |
| Christus Health | Med Adv MM | $81.36 | — |
| Coventry | First Health MM | $81.36 | — |
| United Healthcare | VA CCN MM | $81.36 | — |
| United Healthcare | MM | $82.99 | — |
| Cigna | PPO | $83.48 | — |
| Peoples Health | MM | $83.80 | — |
| Dignity Health | MM | $83.80 | — |
| Wellcare | MM | $85.43 | — |
| American Health Medicare | Advantage MM | $89.50 | — |
| AllyAlign Health | MM | $89.50 | — |
| Aetna | New Business | $102.53 | — |
| Christus Health | HIX | $113.90 | — |
| Aetna | PPO | $120.47 | — |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield Of Louisiana | PPO | $140.97 | — |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield Of Louisiana | HMO | $140.97 | — |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield Of Louisiana | Trad | $140.97 | — |
| United Healthcare | All Payer | $182.03 | — |
| HealthSmart | PPO | not published by hospital | — |
| HealthSmart | Accel PPO | not published by hospital | — |
| Health Management Network | PPO | not published by hospital | — |
| Humana | Healthy Horizons KM | not published by hospital | — |
| Louisiana Healthcare Connections | KM | not published by hospital | — |
| LSU First Choice Verity | PPO | not published by hospital | — |
| Multiplan | PPO | not published by hospital | — |
| Healthcare Highways | PPO | not published by hospital | — |
| Phcs | PPO | not published by hospital | — |
| PPOplus Llc | PPO | not published by hospital | — |
| PPO USA | PPO | not published by hospital | — |
| Provider Select | PPO | not published by hospital | — |
| Gilsbar Inc. | Alliance PPO | not published by hospital | — |
| United Healthcare | KM | not published by hospital | — |
| Five Point Credit Union | PPO | not published by hospital | — |
| First Health | PPO | not published by hospital | — |
| Aetna | KM | not published by hospital | — |
| Vantage Health Plan Inc. | PPO | not published by hospital | — |
| Verity HealthNet | PPO | not published by hospital | — |
| Verity Healthnet National | PPO | not published by hospital | — |
| Healthy Blue Louisiana | KM | not published by hospital | — |
| Amerihealth Caritas Louisiana | KM | not published by hospital | — |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Mid and Lower Back (Thoracolumbar Spine) X-ray at other Louisiana hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| CHRISTUS St. Francis Cabrini Hospital | Alexandria | $192.14 | $72.00 – $181.11 |
| CHRISTUS Louisiana Surgical Hospital | Alexandria | not published | $83.75 – $196.81 |