Tissue culture skin/biopsy at SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Jefferson City

2505 Mission Drive, Jefferson City, MO · SSM Health · · NPI 1518065523

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Apr 1, 2026 · Ingested Sep 10, 2026

$1,400.30

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.

Full explanation →

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

$2,546.00

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.

Full explanation →

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

$126.66 with UnitedHealthCare vs $409.22 with BCBS — 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
UnitedHealthCare All Commercial Plans $126.66 ↓ -91%
UnitedHealthCare Medicare Managed Care Plan $139.96 ↓ -90%
Centene Wellcare Medicare Managed Care Plan $140.73 ↓ -90%
BCBS Anthem Medicare Managed Care - HMO/PPO $142.84 ↓ -90%
Humana Medicare Managed Care Plan $143.12 ↓ -90%
Essence Medicare Managed Care Plan $147.77 ↓ -89%
Centurion All Commercial Plans $197.02 ↓ -86%
Health Systems All Commercial Plans $239.24 ↓ -83%
6 Degress Health All Commercial Plans $253.31 ↓ -82%
BCBS Anthem Pathway Exchange $367.23 ↓ -74%
BCBS Anthem Blue Preferred HMO/POS $383.36 ↓ -73%
BCBS Anthem Blue Access PPO $409.22 ↓ -71%

Visitor-reported prices

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Tissue culture skin/biopsy at other Missouri hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital - Lake Saint Louis Lake Saint Louis $355.30 $140.73 – $580.29
SSM Health DePaul Hospital - St. Louis Bridgeton $355.30 $140.73 – $580.29
SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital Saint Louis $762.85 $137.92 – $300.57
SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital- Wentzville Wentzville $355.30 $140.73 – $580.29
SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital - St. Charles Saint Charles $355.30 $140.73 – $580.29
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - St. Louis Richmond Heights $355.30 $140.73 – $580.29
Mercy Hospital Aurora Aurora $419.90 $91.26 – $195.06
Mercy Hospital Lincoln Troy $516.10 $140.73 – $199.33

All Missouri hospitals for this procedure →