Assay of breath ethanol 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

$47.30

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.

Full explanation →

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

$86.00

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.

Full explanation →

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

$17.13 with BCBS vs $100.20 with Healthlink — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
?

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
BCBS Anthem Pathway Exchange $17.13 ↓ -64%
BCBS Anthem Blue Access Choice PPO $17.60 ↓ -63%
BCBS Anthem Blue Preferred HMO/POS $17.68 ↓ -63%
BCBS Anthem Blue Access PPO $19.07 ↓ -60%
UnitedHealthCare All Commercial Plans $30.00 ↓ -37%
Oscar Exchange $30.00 ↓ -37%
UnitedHealthCare St. Louis University Employee $30.00 ↓ -37%
UnitedHealthCare Options PPO $30.00 ↓ -37%
Aetna Gold Advantage Medicare Managed Care Plan $30.30 ↓ -36%
UnitedHealthCare Medicare Managed Care Plan $30.44 ↓ -36%
BCBS Anthem Medicare Managed Care Plan $30.45 ↓ -36%
Humana Medicare Managed Care Plan $30.51 ↓ -35%
Aetna Advantra Medicare Managed Care Plan $31.05 ↓ -34%
Cigna OAP Other Commercial Plan $50.88 ↑ +8%
Healthlink HMO $100.20 ↑ +112%
Healthlink Employers Choice All Commercial Plans $100.20 ↑ +112%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Assay of breath ethanol at other Missouri hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital - Lake Saint Louis Lake Saint Louis $47.30 $17.13 – $100.20
SSM Health DePaul Hospital - St. Louis Bridgeton $47.30 $17.13 – $100.20
SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital- Wentzville Wentzville $47.30 $17.13 – $100.20
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - St. Louis Richmond Heights $47.30 $17.13 – $100.20
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Jefferson City Jefferson City $40.15 $27.00 – $54.00
Mercy Hospital Southeast Cape Girardeau $76.70 $27.00 – $107.76
Mercy Orthopedic Hospital Springfield Ozark $50.70 $10.77 – $158.00
SSM Health St. Clare Hospital - Fenton Fenton $47.30 $17.13 – $100.20

All Missouri hospitals for this procedure →