Alpha-fetoprotein tumor marker at SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital - Lake Saint Louis

100 Medical Plaza, Lake Saint Louis, MO · SSM Health · · NPI 1871665380

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

$76.45

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.

$139.00

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.

$16.77 with UnitedHealthCare vs $69.17 with Healthlink — 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 Options PPO $16.77 ↓ -78%
Oscar Exchange $16.77 ↓ -78%
UnitedHealthCare St. Louis University Employee $16.77 ↓ -78%
UnitedHealthCare All Commercial Plans $16.77 ↓ -78%
Aetna Gold Advantage Medicare Managed Care Plan $16.94 ↓ -78%
UnitedHealthCare Medicare Managed Care Plan $17.02 ↓ -78%
BCBS Anthem Medicare Managed Care Plan $17.02 ↓ -78%
Humana Medicare Managed Care Plan $17.06 ↓ -78%
Aetna Advantra Medicare Managed Care Plan $17.36 ↓ -77%
BCBS Anthem Pathway Exchange $23.84 ↓ -69%
BCBS Anthem Blue Access Choice PPO $24.50 ↓ -68%
BCBS Anthem Blue Preferred HMO/POS $24.62 ↓ -68%
BCBS Anthem Blue Access PPO $26.55 ↓ -65%
Cigna OAP Other Commercial Plan $28.01 ↓ -63%
Healthlink HMO $69.17 ↓ -10%
Healthlink Employers Choice All Commercial Plans $69.17 ↓ -10%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
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Alpha-fetoprotein tumor marker at other Missouri hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
SSM Health DePaul Hospital - St. Louis Bridgeton $76.45 $16.77 – $69.17
SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital Saint Louis $82.50 $16.43 – $35.83
SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital- Wentzville Wentzville $76.45 $16.77 – $69.17
SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital - St. Charles Saint Charles $76.45 $16.77 – $69.17
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - St. Louis Richmond Heights $76.45 $16.77 – $69.17
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Jefferson City Jefferson City $156.20 $15.09 – $30.19
Mercy Hospital Aurora Aurora $140.40 $14.25 – $27.67
Mercy Hospital Lincoln Troy $161.20 $14.83 – $37.73

All Missouri hospitals for this procedure →