Aspirate pleura without imaging 32554 at Lincoln Health

35 Miles St, Damariscotta, ME · MaineHealth · · NPI 1912094806

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Sep 9, 2025 · Ingested Aug 12, 2026

$699.20

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.

Full explanation →

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

$699.20

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.

Full explanation →

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

$85.55 with Aetna vs $450.36 with Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
?

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
Aetna MHACO Government $85.55 ↓ -88%
United Healthcare Medicare Advantage $92.47 ↓ -87%
Anthem Medicare Advantage $92.47 ↓ -87%
Wellcare Medicare Advantage $96.17 ↓ -86%
Humana Medicare Advantage $98.38 ↓ -86%
Aetna Medicare Advantage $98.38 ↓ -86%
Aetna HMO/PPO $117.56 ↓ -83%
Multiplan Commercial $157.23 ↓ -78%
United Healthcare Commercial $165.50 ↓ -76%
Anthem HMO/POS/PPO Pathway Enhanced $168.85 ↓ -76%
Aetna MHACO Commercial $171.54 ↓ -75%
Community Health Options Commercial $176.90 ↓ -75%
Cigna Commercial $428.48 ↓ -39%
Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare Maine's Choice $450.36 ↓ -36%
Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare Commercial $450.36 ↓ -36%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Aspirate pleura without imaging 32554 at other Maine hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Franklin Memorial Hospital Farmington $823.70 $85.55 – $450.36
Stephens Memorial Hospital Norway $174.05 $35.98 – $87.64
Pen Bay Medical Center Rockport $1,609.25 $83.13 – $450.36
Waldo County General Hospital Belfast $4,057.20 $85.55 – $450.36
Mid Coast Hospital Brunswick $1,609.25 $82.31 – $450.36
Spring Harbor Hospital Westbrook not published $82.31 – $450.36

All Maine hospitals for this procedure →