Upper Back (Thoracic Spine) CT Scan (with contrast) at United Hospital

333 Smith Ave N. St. Paul, MN | 1175 Nininger Road. Hastings, MN · Allinahealth · · NPI 1457319485

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Jun 16, 2026 · Ingested Sep 17, 2026

$647.76

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.

$1,349.50

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.

$158.50 with blue cross blue shield of minnesota vs $1,379.00 with united healthcare (um) — 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 of minnesota bc pmap (amu) $158.50 ↓ -76%
health partners hpi medicare (amu) $162.11 ↓ -75%
all other medicaid all other medicaid (u) $167.11 ↓ -74%
medicaid medicaid ma (u) $167.11 ↓ -74%
allina aetna medicare (u) allina aetna medicare (u) $171.73 ↓ -73%
south country health alliance scha pmap (u) $172.12 ↓ -73%
health partners hpi pmap (amu) $177.12 ↓ -73%
medicare other all other medicare (u) $180.77 ↓ -72%
medicare medicare (u) $180.77 ↓ -72%
bcbs bc medicare (u) $189.81 ↓ -71%
medica medica medicare (u) $189.81 ↓ -71%
uhc ubh pmap uhc ubh pmap (u) $208.89 ↓ -68%
ucare pmap (a b c d e g n o s u r h) ucare pmap (abdmnorsuv) $271.52 ↓ -58%
medica pmap (um) medica pmap (um) $299.59 ↓ -54%
blue cross blue shield of minnesota bc state health plan (mu) $356.89 ↓ -45%
blue cross blue shield of minnesota bc premier (m u) $378.81 ↓ -42%
blue cross allina health blueprint (mu) $407.85 ↓ -37%
health partners hpi (u m) $417.03 ↓ -36%
bcbs bc aehp (mu) $445.60 ↓ -31%
health partners hpi cigna (mu) $445.67 ↓ -31%
blue cross blue shield of minnesota bc high value/performance network (mu) $478.34 ↓ -26%
blue cross blue shield of minnesota bc aware/blue plus (m u) $503.51 ↓ -22%
medica dual solutions (a u) medica dual solutions (a u) $654.00 ↑ +1%
aetna aetna elevate (amu) $735.00 ↑ +13%
aetna aetna performance (amu) $788.00 ↑ +22%
americas ppo (araz)(a m u) americas ppo (araz)(a m u) $903.09 ↑ +39%
medica health system medica elect (u m) $943.00 ↑ +46%
medica ubh (u) medica ubh (u) $944.65 ↑ +46%
medica mhps medica mhps (u m) $984.00 ↑ +52%
medica medica essentials (u m) $984.00 ↑ +52%
americas ppo (araz) americas ppo (araz) (a c m u) $998.63 ↑ +54%
medica health system medica choice (u m) $1,036.00 ↑ +60%
medica ubh pmap medica ubh pmap (u) $1,079.60 ↑ +67%
first health (a c e g h u b d n o r s) first health (abdmnosurv) $1,133.58 ↑ +75%
aetna direct network aetna direct network (amu) $1,136.00 ↑ +75%
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) $1,349.50 ↑ +108%
united healthcare (um) united healthcare (um) $1,379.00 ↑ +113%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Upper Back (Thoracic Spine) CT Scan (with contrast) at other Minnesota hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Sanford Bagley Medical Center Bagley $2,369.60 $186.92 – $2,665.80
Sanford Bemidji Medical Center Bemidji $2,369.60 $132.55 – $2,665.80
Sanford Worthington Medical Center Worthington $2,464.80 $135.41 – $2,772.90
Sanford Thief River Falls Medical Center Thief River Falls $2,295.20 $186.92 – $2,582.10
Sanford Behavioral Health Thief River Falls Thief River Falls $2,295.20 $186.92 – $2,582.10
Owatonna Hospital Owatonna $1,368.81 $167.11 – $709.05
Abbott Northwestern Hospital MN 55407 $647.76 $158.50 – $1,136.00
Allina Health Faribault Medical Center Faribualt $1,368.81 $167.11 – $709.05

All Minnesota hospitals for this procedure →