Brain MRI (without contrast) at Buffalo Hospital
303 Catlin St, Buffalo, MN · Allinahealth · · NPI 1538123567
$1,386.00
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.
$2,475.00
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.
$227.33 with all other medicaid vs $2,330.00 with united healthcare (bdohsv) — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| all other medicaid | all other medicaid (b) | $227.33 | ↓ -84% |
| medicaid | medicaid ma (b) | $227.33 | ↓ -84% |
| allina aetna medicare (b) | allina aetna medicare (b) | $233.60 | ↓ -83% |
| south country health alliance | scha pmap (b) | $234.15 | ↓ -83% |
| medicare other | all other medicare (b) | $245.90 | ↓ -82% |
| medicare | medicare (b) | $245.90 | ↓ -82% |
| medica | medica medicare (b) | $255.74 | ↓ -82% |
| bcbs | bc medicare (b) | $258.19 | ↓ -81% |
| blue cross blue shield | bc pmap (b d o s v) | $324.76 | ↓ -77% |
| ucare pmap (a b c d e g n o s u r h) | ucare pmap (abdmnorsuv) | $373.45 | ↓ -73% |
| health partners | hpi cigna (mu) | $605.14 | ↓ -56% |
| blue cross | allina health blueprint (bdoshv) | $666.67 | ↓ -52% |
| blue cross blue shield | bc state health plan (b d o s v) | $676.96 | ↓ -51% |
| blue cross blue shield of minnesota | bc premier (b d o s v) | $753.85 | ↓ -46% |
| medica health system | medica dual solutions (b d v o s) | $796.00 | ↓ -43% |
| healthpartners | hpi (bdov) | $816.44 | ↓ -41% |
| aetna | aetna elevate (bdosv) | $824.67 | ↓ -41% |
| aetna | aetna performance (bdosv) | $871.07 | ↓ -37% |
| blue cross blue shield | bc aehp (b d o s v) | $886.86 | ↓ -36% |
| health partners | hpi cigna (bdov) | $889.92 | ↓ -36% |
| blue cross blue shield of minnesota | bc high value/performance network (bdosv) | $951.96 | ↓ -31% |
| blue cross blue shield | bc aware/blue plus (b d o s v) | $1,002.09 | ↓ -28% |
| aetna direct/indirect regional network | aetna direct/indirect regional (bdosv) | $1,100.30 | ↓ -21% |
| medica health system | medica elect (b d o s v) | $1,157.52 | ↓ -16% |
| medica | medica essentials (b d o s v) | $1,208.55 | ↓ -13% |
| medica mhps | medica mhps (bdosv) | $1,208.55 | ↓ -13% |
| medica health system | medica choice (b d o s v) | $1,272.00 | ↓ -8% |
| americas ppo (araz)(b d n o r s v) | americas ppo (araz)(b d n o r s v) | $1,431.80 | ↑ +3% |
| first health (a c e g h u b d n o r s) | first health (abdmnosurv) | $1,559.12 | ↑ +12% |
| americas ppo (araz) (b d n h o r s) | americas ppo (araz) (b d n h o r s v) | $1,559.12 | ↑ +12% |
| 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) | $1,856.10 | ↑ +34% |
| united healthcare (bdohsv) | united healthcare (bdosv) | $2,330.00 | ↑ +68% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Brain MRI (without contrast) at other Minnesota hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sanford Canby Medical Center | Canby | $3,083.20 | $253.81 – $3,468.60 |
| Sanford Westbrook Hospital | Westbrook | $3,062.40 | $253.81 – $3,445.20 |
| Sanford Bagley Medical Center | Bagley | $3,083.20 | $253.81 – $3,468.60 |
| Sanford Wheaton | Wheaton | $2,676.80 | $253.81 – $3,011.40 |
| Sanford Luverne Medical Center | Luverne | $2,939.20 | $253.81 – $3,306.60 |
| Sanford Bemidji Medical Center | Bemidji | $3,083.20 | $176.78 – $3,468.60 |
| Sanford Worthington Medical Center | Worthington | $3,092.80 | $180.60 – $3,479.40 |
| Sanford Tracy Hospital | Tracy | $3,062.40 | $253.81 – $3,445.20 |