Critical Care (first 30 to 74 minutes) 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

$1,598.02

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.

$2,853.60

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.

$297.73 with blue cross blue shield vs $3,893.00 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 →

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
blue cross blue shield bc pmap (b d o s v) $297.73 ↓ -81%
ucare pmap (a b c d e g n o s u r h) ucare pmap (abdmnorsuv) $574.14 ↓ -64%
blue cross allina health blueprint (bdoshv) $611.20 ↓ -62%
blue cross blue shield bc state health plan (b d o s v) $620.63 ↓ -61%
blue cross blue shield of minnesota bc premier (b d o s v) $691.12 ↓ -57%
medicaid medicaid ma (b) $787.00 ↓ -51%
all other medicaid all other medicaid (b) $787.00 ↓ -51%
allina aetna medicare (b) allina aetna medicare (b) $808.73 ↓ -49%
south country health alliance scha pmap (b) $810.61 ↓ -49%
blue cross blue shield bc aehp (b d o s v) $813.06 ↓ -49%
medicare other all other medicare (b) $851.30 ↓ -47%
medicare medicare (b) $851.30 ↓ -47%
blue cross blue shield of minnesota bc high value/performance network (bdosv) $872.74 ↓ -45%
medica ub health (b) medica ub health (b) $873.00 ↓ -45%
medica medica medicare (b) $885.35 ↓ -45%
bcbs bc medicare (b) $893.87 ↓ -44%
blue cross blue shield bc aware/blue plus (b d o s v) $918.69 ↓ -43%
medica health system medica dual solutions (b d v o s) $1,147.00 ↓ -28%
aetna aetna elevate (bdosv) $1,267.85 ↓ -21%
aetna aetna performance (bdosv) $1,339.19 ↓ -16%
aetna direct/indirect regional network aetna direct/indirect regional (bdosv) $1,691.61 ↑ +6%
healthpartners hpi (bdov) $1,931.80 ↑ +21%
health partners hpi cigna (bdov) $2,105.66 ↑ +32%
health partners hpi cigna (mu) $2,109.47 ↑ +32%
americas ppo (araz)(b d n o r s v) americas ppo (araz)(b d n o r s v) $2,201.27 ↑ +38%
first health (a c e g h u b d n o r s) first health (abdmnosurv) $2,397.02 ↑ +50%
americas ppo (araz) (b d n h o r s) americas ppo (araz) (b d n h o r s v) $2,397.02 ↑ +50%
medica health system medica elect (b d o s v) $2,470.65 ↑ +55%
medica mhps medica mhps (bdosv) $2,579.57 ↑ +61%
medica medica essentials (b d o s v) $2,579.57 ↑ +61%
medica health system medica choice (b d o s v) $2,715.00 ↑ +70%
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) $2,853.60 ↑ +79%
united healthcare (bdohsv) united healthcare (bdosv) $3,893.00 ↑ +144%

Visitor-reported prices

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Critical Care (first 30 to 74 minutes) at other Minnesota hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Sanford Canby Medical Center Canby $2,857.60 $864.78 – $3,214.80
Sanford Westbrook Hospital Westbrook $2,927.20 $884.74 – $3,293.10
Sanford Bagley Medical Center Bagley $2,949.60 $884.74 – $3,318.30
Sanford Wheaton Wheaton $2,176.80 $658.75 – $2,448.90
Sanford Luverne Medical Center Luverne $2,088.80 $632.12 – $2,349.90
Sanford Bemidji Medical Center Bemidji $2,949.60 $640.18 – $3,318.30
Sanford Worthington Medical Center Worthington $1,664.00 $654.01 – $1,872.00
Sanford Tracy Hospital Tracy $2,927.20 $884.74 – $3,293.10

All Minnesota hospitals for this procedure →