Echo stress at Buffalo Hospital
303 Catlin St, Buffalo, MN · Allinahealth · · NPI 1538123567
$2,742.54
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.
$4,897.40
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.
$251.75 with blue cross blue shield vs $4,897.40 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 →
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| blue cross blue shield | bc pmap (b d o s v) | $251.75 | ↓ -91% |
| blue cross | allina health blueprint (bdoshv) | $516.79 | ↓ -81% |
| medicaid | medicaid ma (b) | $520.60 | ↓ -81% |
| all other medicaid | all other medicaid (b) | $520.60 | ↓ -81% |
| blue cross blue shield | bc state health plan (b d o s v) | $524.77 | ↓ -81% |
| allina aetna medicare (b) | allina aetna medicare (b) | $534.96 | ↓ -80% |
| south country health alliance | scha pmap (b) | $536.22 | ↓ -80% |
| medicare | medicare (b) | $563.12 | ↓ -79% |
| medicare other | all other medicare (b) | $563.12 | ↓ -79% |
| blue cross blue shield of minnesota | bc premier (b d o s v) | $584.36 | ↓ -79% |
| medica | medica medicare (b) | $585.64 | ↓ -79% |
| bcbs | bc medicare (b) | $591.28 | ↓ -78% |
| blue cross blue shield | bc aehp (b d o s v) | $687.47 | ↓ -75% |
| blue cross blue shield of minnesota | bc high value/performance network (bdosv) | $737.94 | ↓ -73% |
| blue cross blue shield | bc aware/blue plus (b d o s v) | $776.80 | ↓ -72% |
| ucare pmap (a b c d e g n o s u r h) | ucare pmap (abdmnorsuv) | $985.36 | ↓ -64% |
| health partners | hpi cigna (mu) | $1,372.67 | ↓ -50% |
| aetna | aetna elevate (bdosv) | $2,175.91 | ↓ -21% |
| aetna | aetna performance (bdosv) | $2,298.35 | ↓ -16% |
| medica health system | medica dual solutions (b d v o s) | $2,497.67 | ↓ -9% |
| aetna direct/indirect regional network | aetna direct/indirect regional (bdosv) | $2,903.18 | ↑ +6% |
| healthpartners | hpi (bdov) | $3,315.39 | ↑ +21% |
| united healthcare (bdohsv) | united healthcare (bdosv) | $3,374.31 | ↑ +23% |
| medica health system | medica elect (b d o s v) | $3,588.81 | ↑ +31% |
| health partners | hpi cigna (bdov) | $3,613.78 | ↑ +32% |
| medica mhps | medica mhps (bdosv) | $3,747.00 | ↑ +37% |
| medica | medica essentials (b d o s v) | $3,747.00 | ↑ +37% |
| americas ppo (araz)(b d n o r s v) | americas ppo (araz)(b d n o r s v) | $3,777.85 | ↑ +38% |
| medica ub health (b) | medica ub health (b) | $3,908.13 | ↑ +43% |
| medica health system | medica choice (b d o s v) | $3,943.39 | ↑ +44% |
| first health (a c e g h u b d n o r s) | first health (abdmnosurv) | $4,113.82 | ↑ +50% |
| americas ppo (araz) (b d n h o r s) | americas ppo (araz) (b d n h o r s v) | $4,113.82 | ↑ +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) | $4,897.40 | ↑ +79% |
Visitor-reported prices
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Echo stress at other Minnesota hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sanford Canby Medical Center | Canby | $2,165.60 | $575.70 – $2,436.30 |
| Sanford Westbrook Hospital | Westbrook | $2,185.60 | $575.70 – $2,458.80 |
| Sanford Luverne Medical Center | Luverne | $2,052.80 | $575.70 – $2,309.40 |
| Sanford Bemidji Medical Center | Bemidji | $2,121.60 | $397.99 – $2,386.80 |
| Sanford Worthington Medical Center | Worthington | $2,179.20 | $406.59 – $2,326.50 |
| Sanford Tracy Hospital | Tracy | $2,185.60 | $575.70 – $2,458.80 |
| Sanford Thief River Falls Medical Center | Thief River Falls | $2,101.60 | $575.70 – $2,364.30 |
| Sanford Behavioral Health Thief River Falls | Thief River Falls | $2,101.60 | $575.70 – $2,364.30 |