4-bar link above knee w/swng at Buffalo Hospital

303 Catlin St, Buffalo, MN · Allinahealth · · NPI 1538123567

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Jun 16, 2026 · Ingested Sep 17, 2026

$3,553.93

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.

$6,346.30

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.

$0.01 with united healthcare (bdohsv) vs $6,346.30 with all other contracted care (a b c d e g h n o r s u) — 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
united healthcare (bdohsv) united healthcare (bdosv) $0.01 ↓ -100%
blue cross blue shield bc pmap (b d o s v) $1,160.00 ↓ -67%
ucare pmap (a b c d e g n o s u r h) ucare pmap (abdmnorsuv) $1,276.88 ↓ -64%
allina aetna medicare (b) allina aetna medicare (b) $1,942.40 ↓ -45%
medicare other all other medicare (b) $2,044.63 ↓ -42%
medicare medicare (b) $2,044.63 ↓ -42%
all other medicaid all other medicaid (b) $2,076.01 ↓ -42%
medicaid medicaid ma (b) $2,076.01 ↓ -42%
medica medica medicare (b) $2,126.42 ↓ -40%
south country health alliance scha pmap (b) $2,138.29 ↓ -40%
bcbs bc medicare (b) $2,146.86 ↓ -40%
blue cross allina health blueprint (bdoshv) $2,381.24 ↓ -33%
blue cross blue shield bc state health plan (b d o s v) $2,418.00 ↓ -32%
blue cross blue shield of minnesota bc premier (b d o s v) $2,692.64 ↓ -24%
aetna aetna elevate (bdosv) $2,819.66 ↓ -21%
aetna aetna performance (bdosv) $2,978.32 ↓ -16%
blue cross blue shield bc aehp (b d o s v) $3,167.71 ↓ -11%
medica health system medica dual solutions (b d v o s) $3,236.61 ↓ -9%
blue cross blue shield of minnesota bc high value/performance network (bdosv) $3,400.27 ↓ -4%
blue cross blue shield bc aware/blue plus (b d o s v) $3,579.30 ↑ +1%
aetna direct/indirect regional network aetna direct/indirect regional (bdosv) $3,762.09 ↑ +6%
healthpartners hpi (bdov) $4,296.25 ↑ +21%
medica health system medica elect (b d o s v) $4,650.57 ↑ +31%
health partners hpi cigna (bdov) $4,682.92 ↑ +32%
medica medica essentials (b d o s v) $4,855.55 ↑ +37%
medica mhps medica mhps (bdosv) $4,855.55 ↑ +37%
americas ppo (araz)(b d n o r s v) americas ppo (araz)(b d n o r s v) $4,895.54 ↑ +38%
medica health system medica choice (b d o s v) $5,110.04 ↑ +44%
americas ppo (araz) (b d n h o r s) americas ppo (araz) (b d n h o r s v) $5,330.89 ↑ +50%
first health (a c e g h u b d n o r s) first health (abdmnosurv) $5,330.89 ↑ +50%
all other contracted care (a b c d e g h n o r s u) all other contracted care (a b c d m h n o r s u v) $6,346.30 ↑ +79%

Visitor-reported prices

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4-bar link above knee w/swng at other Minnesota hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
United Hospital MN | 1175 Nininger Road. Hastings $3,046.22 $807.66 – $2,595.01
Owatonna Hospital Owatonna $3,553.93 $1,160.00 – $4,682.92
Abbott Northwestern Hospital MN 55407 $3,046.22 $807.66 – $2,595.01
Allina Health Faribault Medical Center Faribualt $3,553.93 $1,160.00 – $4,682.92
New Ulm Medical Center MN 56073 $2,675.51 $1,210.20 – $3,907.15
Mercy Hospital MN 55443 | 550 Osborne Road NE. Fridley $3,046.22 $807.66 – $2,595.01
Cambridge Medical Center Cambridge $3,553.93 $1,160.00 – $4,682.92
River Falls Area Hospital River Falls $3,553.93 $1,188.80 – $4,764.10

All Minnesota hospitals for this procedure →