Aluminum - quest at SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital - St. Charles

300 1St Capitol Dr, Saint Charles, MO · SSM Health · · NPI 1467521146

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

$64.35

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.

$117.00

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.

$25.48 with UnitedHealthCare vs $105.08 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 $25.48 ↓ -60%
Oscar Exchange $25.48 ↓ -60%
UnitedHealthCare St. Louis University Employee $25.48 ↓ -60%
UnitedHealthCare All Commercial Plans $25.48 ↓ -60%
Aetna Gold Advantage Medicare Managed Care Plan $25.73 ↓ -60%
UnitedHealthCare Medicare Managed Care Plan $25.86 ↓ -60%
BCBS Anthem Medicare Managed Care Plan $25.86 ↓ -60%
Humana Medicare Managed Care Plan $25.91 ↓ -60%
Aetna Advantra Medicare Managed Care Plan $26.37 ↓ -59%
BCBS Anthem Pathway Exchange $36.21 ↓ -44%
BCBS Anthem Blue Access Choice PPO $37.20 ↓ -42%
BCBS Anthem Blue Preferred HMO/POS $37.38 ↓ -42%
BCBS Anthem Blue Access PPO $40.32 ↓ -37%
Cigna OAP Other Commercial Plan $42.88 ↓ -33%
Healthlink HMO $105.08 ↑ +63%
Healthlink Employers Choice All Commercial Plans $105.08 ↑ +63%

Visitor-reported prices

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Aluminum - quest at other Missouri hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital - Lake Saint Louis Lake Saint Louis $64.35 $25.48 – $105.08
SSM Health DePaul Hospital - St. Louis Bridgeton $64.35 $25.48 – $105.08
SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital Saint Louis $201.85 $24.97 – $54.43
SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital- Wentzville Wentzville $64.35 $25.48 – $105.08
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - St. Louis Richmond Heights $64.35 $25.48 – $105.08
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Jefferson City Jefferson City $73.15 $22.93 – $45.86
Mercy Hospital Aurora Aurora $91.00 $12.47 – $35.31
Mercy Hospital Lincoln Troy $148.20 $25.48 – $36.08

All Missouri hospitals for this procedure →