Thoracentesis pleural space needle/catheter aspiration with imaging guidance (both sides) at Sanford Worthington Medical Center
1018 6th Ave, Worthington, MN · Sanford Health · · NPI 1396712618
$1,392.00
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.
$1,740.00
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.
$452.45 with Sanford Health Plan vs $1,710.56 with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sanford Health Plan | SD Exchange True | $452.45 | ↓ -67% |
| Sanford Health Plan | Group Health/True | $452.45 | ↓ -67% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota | PMAP | $463.00 | ↓ -67% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota | State Employees | $525.15 | ↓ -62% |
| Sanford Health Plan | SD Exchange Commercial | $532.27 | ↓ -62% |
| Sanford Health Plan | Commercial/ND Pers | $532.27 | ↓ -62% |
| Sanford Health Plan Align | Medicare Replacement | $576.42 | ↓ -59% |
| Ucare | Medicare Replacement | $618.90 | ↓ -56% |
| Health Partners | Medicare Replacement | $624.96 | ↓ -55% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota | Medicare Replacement | $624.96 | ↓ -55% |
| Great Plains Medicare Advantage | Medicare Replacement | $624.96 | ↓ -55% |
| Aetna | Medicare Replacement | $624.96 | ↓ -55% |
| United Healthcare | Medicare Replacement | $624.96 | ↓ -55% |
| Primewest | Medicare Replacement | $637.10 | ↓ -54% |
| Security Health Plan | Commercial | $641.85 | ↓ -54% |
| Primewest | Medicaid Managed Care | $680.09 | ↓ -51% |
| Ucare | Medicaid Managed Care | $680.09 | ↓ -51% |
| Health Partners | State Employees | $718.87 | ↓ -48% |
| Health Partners | Commercial | $828.57 | ↓ -40% |
| Ucare | Commercial | $911.43 | ↓ -35% |
| Aetna | Commercial | $956.94 | ↓ -31% |
| United Healthcare | Commercial + Top 20 | $974.45 | ↓ -30% |
| Medica | Choice | $1,040.96 | ↓ -25% |
| First Choice Health Network | Commercial | $1,050.30 | ↓ -25% |
| Healthez | Commercial | $1,050.30 | ↓ -25% |
| Multiplan | Commercial | $1,050.30 | ↓ -25% |
| Medica | Elect | $1,114.49 | ↓ -20% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota | Commercial/Federal | $1,710.56 | ↑ +23% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Thoracentesis pleural space needle/catheter aspiration with imaging guidance (both sides) at other Minnesota hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sanford Canby Medical Center | Canby | $1,907.20 | $577.17 – $2,145.60 |
| Sanford Westbrook Hospital | Westbrook | $1,754.40 | $530.93 – $1,973.70 |
| Sanford Bagley Medical Center | Bagley | $1,852.00 | $560.46 – $2,083.50 |
| Sanford Luverne Medical Center | Luverne | $1,778.40 | $538.19 – $2,000.70 |
| Sanford Bemidji Medical Center | Bemidji | $1,852.00 | $453.20 – $2,083.50 |
| Sanford Tracy Hospital | Tracy | $1,754.40 | $530.93 – $1,973.70 |
| Sanford Thief River Falls Medical Center | Thief River Falls | $1,502.40 | $645.09 – $1,690.20 |
| Sanford Behavioral Health Thief River Falls | Thief River Falls | $1,502.40 | $645.09 – $1,690.20 |