Assay of feces porphyrins at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital

1201 S Grand Blvd, Saint Louis, MO · SSM Health · · NPI 1942685920

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

$259.05

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.

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

$471.00

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.

$38.33 with BCBS vs $67.66 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
BCBS Anthem Medicare Managed Care Plan $38.33 ↓ -85%
UnitedHealthCare Options PPO $39.11 ↓ -85%
Oscar Exchange $39.11 ↓ -85%
UnitedHealthCare Non-PPO Other Commercial Plan $39.11 ↓ -85%
Centene Wellcare Medicare Managed Care - PPO $39.50 ↓ -85%
Humana Medicare Managed Care Plan $39.77 ↓ -85%
Aetna Advantra Medicare Managed Care Plan $39.89 ↓ -85%
Essence Medicare Managed Care Plan $40.28 ↓ -84%
BCBS Anthem Pathway Exchange $41.56 ↓ -84%
BCBS Anthem Blue Preferred HMO/POS $42.45 ↓ -84%
BCBS Anthem Blue Access Choice All Commercial Plans $42.45 ↓ -84%
BCBS Anthem Blue Access PPO $45.75 ↓ -82%
UnitedHealthCare Employee $46.93 ↓ -82%
Cigna All Commercial Plans $65.74 ↓ -75%
Healthlink HMO $67.66 ↓ -74%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
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Assay of feces porphyrins at other Missouri hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital Saint Louis $147.40 $35.36 – $76.33
SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital - Lake Saint Louis Lake Saint Louis $111.10 $36.20 – $130.63
SSM Health DePaul Hospital - St. Louis Bridgeton $111.10 $36.20 – $130.63
SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital- Wentzville Wentzville $111.10 $36.20 – $130.63
SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital - St. Charles Saint Charles $111.10 $36.20 – $130.63
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - St. Louis Richmond Heights $111.10 $36.20 – $130.63
Mercy Hospital Lincoln Troy $219.70 $33.81 – $54.21
Mercy Hospital Southeast Cape Girardeau $506.35 $35.20 – $140.48

All Missouri hospitals for this procedure →