Abdominal MRI (with and without contrast) at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital

1465 S Grand Blvd, Saint Louis, MO · SSM Health · · NPI 1508935891

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

$3,192.75

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.

$5,805.00

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.

$384.42 with BCBS vs $754.65 with UnitedHealthCare — 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
BCBS Anthem Pathway Exchange $384.42 ↓ -88%
BCBS Anthem Blue Access Choice All Commercial Plans $399.57 ↓ -87%
BCBS Anthem Blue Preferred HMO/POS $399.57 ↓ -87%
BCBS Anthem Blue Access PPO $433.30 ↓ -86%
UnitedHealthCare Non-PPO Other Commercial Plan $662.62 ↓ -79%
UnitedHealthCare Options PPO $754.65 ↓ -76%

Visitor-reported prices

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Abdominal MRI (with and without contrast) at other Missouri hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital Saint Louis $2,849.55 $342.45 – $1,443.39
SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital - Lake Saint Louis Lake Saint Louis $2,442.00 $349.44 – $1,496.04
SSM Health DePaul Hospital - St. Louis Bridgeton $2,442.00 $349.44 – $1,496.04
SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital- Wentzville Wentzville $2,442.00 $393.54 – $1,496.04
SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital - St. Charles Saint Charles $2,442.00 $349.44 – $1,496.04
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - St. Louis Richmond Heights $2,442.00 $349.44 – $1,496.04
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Jefferson City Jefferson City $1,552.32 $347.51 – $628.99
Mercy Hospital Aurora Aurora $2,897.05 $206.69 – $468.85

All Missouri hospitals for this procedure →