Echocardiogram (Heart Ultrasound) at Buffalo Hospital
303 Catlin St, Buffalo, MN · Allinahealth · · NPI 1538123567
$1,347.14
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.
$2,405.60
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.
$276.88 with blue cross blue shield vs $2,062.10 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) | $276.88 | ↓ -79% |
| ucare pmap (a b c d e g n o s u r h) | ucare pmap (abdmnorsuv) | $414.89 | ↓ -69% |
| all other medicaid | all other medicaid (b) | $520.60 | ↓ -61% |
| medicaid | medicaid ma (b) | $520.60 | ↓ -61% |
| allina aetna medicare (b) | allina aetna medicare (b) | $534.96 | ↓ -60% |
| south country health alliance | scha pmap (b) | $536.22 | ↓ -60% |
| medicare | medicare (b) | $563.12 | ↓ -58% |
| medicare other | all other medicare (b) | $563.12 | ↓ -58% |
| blue cross | allina health blueprint (bdoshv) | $568.36 | ↓ -58% |
| blue cross blue shield | bc state health plan (b d o s v) | $577.13 | ↓ -57% |
| medica | medica medicare (b) | $585.64 | ↓ -57% |
| bcbs | bc medicare (b) | $591.28 | ↓ -56% |
| blue cross blue shield of minnesota | bc premier (b d o s v) | $642.68 | ↓ -52% |
| blue cross blue shield | bc aehp (b d o s v) | $756.08 | ↓ -44% |
| blue cross blue shield of minnesota | bc high value/performance network (bdosv) | $811.59 | ↓ -40% |
| blue cross blue shield | bc aware/blue plus (b d o s v) | $854.32 | ↓ -37% |
| aetna | aetna elevate (bdosv) | $916.19 | ↓ -32% |
| aetna | aetna performance (bdosv) | $967.74 | ↓ -28% |
| medica health system | medica dual solutions (b d v o s) | $1,051.67 | ↓ -22% |
| aetna direct/indirect regional network | aetna direct/indirect regional (bdosv) | $1,222.41 | ↓ -9% |
| health partners | hpi cigna (mu) | $1,372.67 | ↑ +2% |
| healthpartners | hpi (bdov) | $1,395.98 | ↑ +4% |
| united healthcare (bdohsv) | united healthcare (bdosv) | $1,420.79 | ↑ +5% |
| medica health system | medica elect (b d o s v) | $1,511.11 | ↑ +12% |
| health partners | hpi cigna (bdov) | $1,521.62 | ↑ +13% |
| medica mhps | medica mhps (bdosv) | $1,577.71 | ↑ +17% |
| medica | medica essentials (b d o s v) | $1,577.71 | ↑ +17% |
| americas ppo (araz)(b d n o r s v) | americas ppo (araz)(b d n o r s v) | $1,590.70 | ↑ +18% |
| medica ub health (b) | medica ub health (b) | $1,645.56 | ↑ +22% |
| medica health system | medica choice (b d o s v) | $1,660.40 | ↑ +23% |
| first health (a c e g h u b d n o r s) | first health (abdmnosurv) | $1,732.16 | ↑ +29% |
| americas ppo (araz) (b d n h o r s) | americas ppo (araz) (b d n h o r s v) | $1,732.16 | ↑ +29% |
| 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) | $2,062.10 | ↑ +53% |
Visitor-reported prices
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Echocardiogram (Heart Ultrasound) at other Minnesota hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sanford Canby Medical Center | Canby | $2,481.60 | $575.70 – $2,791.80 |
| Sanford Westbrook Hospital | Westbrook | $2,535.20 | $575.70 – $2,852.10 |
| Sanford Bagley Medical Center | Bagley | $2,280.00 | $575.70 – $2,565.00 |
| Sanford Wheaton | Wheaton | $1,397.60 | $575.70 – $1,572.30 |
| Sanford Luverne Medical Center | Luverne | $2,258.40 | $575.70 – $2,540.70 |
| Sanford Bemidji Medical Center | Bemidji | $2,280.00 | $397.99 – $2,565.00 |
| Sanford Worthington Medical Center | Worthington | $2,164.80 | $406.59 – $2,435.40 |
| Sanford Tracy Hospital | Tracy | $2,535.20 | $575.70 – $2,852.10 |