Observation per hour at River Falls Area Hospital

1617 E Division St, River Falls, MN · Allinahealth · · NPI 1285691725

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Jun 15, 2026 · Ingested Sep 17, 2026

$90.83

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.

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

$162.20

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.

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

$32.63 with ucare pmap (a b c d e g n o s u r h) vs $195.92 with bc high value/ performance network (r) — 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
ucare pmap (a b c d e g n o s u r h) ucare pmap (abdmnorsuv) $32.63 ↓ -64%
blue cross blue shield of minnesota bc pmap (r) $41.15 ↓ -55%
medica health system medica pmap (r) $43.63 ↓ -52%
medicare other all other medicare (r) $68.63 ↓ -24%
medica medica medicare (r) $72.06 ↓ -21%
bcbs bc medicare (r) $72.06 ↓ -21%
medica health system medica dual solutions (r) $72.99 ↓ -20%
south country health alliance scha msho (r) $75.49 ↓ -17%
all other medicaid all other medicaid (r) $77.86 ↓ -14%
south country health alliance scha pmap (r) $80.19 ↓ -12%
aetna aetna elevate (n r) $99.38 ↑ +9%
aetna aetna performance (n r) $107.36 ↑ +18%
blue cross blue shield of minnesota bc state health plan (r) $120.80 ↑ +33%
americas ppo (araz)(b d n o r s v) americas ppo (araz)(b d n o r s v) $125.12 ↑ +38%
first health (a c e g h u b d n o r s) first health (abdmnosurv) $136.25 ↑ +50%
americas ppo (araz) (b d n h o r s) americas ppo (araz) (b d n h o r s v) $136.25 ↑ +50%
aetna direct/indirect network aetna direct/indirect network (n r) $137.19 ↑ +51%
bc aware/blue plus (nr) bc aware/blue plus (nr) $137.97 ↑ +52%
medica ub health (r) medica ub health (r) $141.11 ↑ +55%
blue cross blue shield of minnesota bc premier (r) $155.15 ↑ +71%
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) $162.20 ↑ +79%
bcbs bc aehp (r) $182.51 ↑ +101%
bc high value/ performance network (r) bc high value/ performance network (r) $195.92 ↑ +116%

Visitor-reported prices

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Observation per hour at other Minnesota hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Sanford Canby Medical Center Canby $70.40 $21.30 – $79.20
Sanford Westbrook Hospital Westbrook $60.00 $18.16 – $67.50
Sanford Bagley Medical Center Bagley $76.80 $23.24 – $86.40
Sanford Wheaton Wheaton $52.80 $15.98 – $59.40
Sanford Luverne Medical Center Luverne $68.00 $20.58 – $76.50
Sanford Bemidji Medical Center Bemidji $168.00 $1.02 – $86.40
Sanford Worthington Medical Center Worthington $76.00 $1.00 – $85.50
Sanford Tracy Hospital Tracy $60.00 $18.16 – $67.50

All Minnesota hospitals for this procedure →