Tc-99m diag per dose 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

$3,585.96

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.

Full explanation →

What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$6,403.50

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.

Full explanation →

The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$250.97 with blue cross blue shield vs $6,403.50 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
?

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) $250.97 ↓ -93%
blue cross allina health blueprint (bdoshv) $537.79 ↓ -85%
blue cross blue shield bc state health plan (b d o s v) $546.18 ↓ -85%
blue cross blue shield of minnesota bc premier (b d o s v) $608.27 ↓ -83%
blue cross blue shield bc aehp (b d o s v) $715.55 ↓ -80%
blue cross blue shield of minnesota bc high value/performance network (bdosv) $768.12 ↓ -79%
blue cross blue shield bc aware/blue plus (b d o s v) $808.55 ↓ -77%
ucare pmap (a b c d e g n o s u r h) ucare pmap (abdmnorsuv) $1,288.38 ↓ -64%
aetna aetna elevate (bdosv) $2,845.08 ↓ -21%
aetna aetna performance (bdosv) $3,005.16 ↓ -16%
united healthcare (bdohsv) united healthcare (bdosv) $3,201.75 ↓ -11%
medica health system medica dual solutions (b d v o s) $3,265.78 ↓ -9%
aetna direct/indirect regional network aetna direct/indirect regional (bdosv) $3,795.99 ↑ +6%
healthpartners hpi (bdov) $4,334.98 ↑ +21%
medica health system medica elect (b d o s v) $4,692.48 ↑ +31%
health partners hpi cigna (bdov) $4,725.13 ↑ +32%
medica medica essentials (b d o s v) $4,899.32 ↑ +37%
medica mhps medica mhps (bdosv) $4,899.32 ↑ +37%
americas ppo (araz)(b d n o r s v) americas ppo (araz)(b d n o r s v) $4,939.66 ↑ +38%
medica health system medica choice (b d o s v) $5,156.10 ↑ +44%
first health (a c e g h u b d n o r s) first health (abdmnosurv) $5,378.94 ↑ +50%
americas ppo (araz) (b d n h o r s) americas ppo (araz) (b d n h o r s v) $5,378.94 ↑ +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) $6,403.50 ↑ +79%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Tc-99m diag per dose at other Minnesota hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
United Hospital MN | 1175 Nininger Road. Hastings $3,073.68 $227.74 – $542.82
Owatonna Hospital Owatonna $3,585.96 $250.97 – $4,725.13
Abbott Northwestern Hospital MN 55407 $3,073.68 $227.74 – $542.82
Allina Health Faribault Medical Center Faribualt $3,585.96 $250.97 – $4,725.13
Mercy Hospital MN 55443 | 550 Osborne Road NE. Fridley $3,073.68 $227.74 – $542.82
Cambridge Medical Center Cambridge $3,585.96 $250.97 – $4,725.13
River Falls Area Hospital River Falls $3,585.96 $245.50 – $2,980.39
Sanford Bemidji Medical Center Bemidji not published $1.02 – $1.02

All Minnesota hospitals for this procedure →