Breast punct aspir cyst, bil 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

$655.60

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.

$1,192.00

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.

$53.80 with BCBS vs $4,616.00 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 Pathway Exchange $53.80 ↓ -92%
BCBS Anthem Blue Preferred HMO/POS $54.95 ↓ -92%
BCBS Anthem Blue Access Choice All Commercial Plans $54.95 ↓ -92%
BCBS Anthem Blue Access PPO $59.23 ↓ -91%
BCBS Anthem Medicare Managed Care Plan $695.09 ↑ +6%
Aetna Medicare Managed Care Plan $709.28 ↑ +8%
Centene Wellcare Medicare Managed Care - PPO $716.37 ↑ +9%
Humana Medicare Managed Care Plan $721.33 ↑ +10%
Aetna Advantra Medicare Managed Care Plan $723.46 ↑ +10%
Essence Medicare Managed Care Plan $730.55 ↑ +11%
Oscar Exchange $851.13 ↑ +30%
Aetna Carelink All Commercial Plans $1,234.00 ↑ +88%
Cigna All Commercial Plans $1,373.00 ↑ +109%
Aetna All Commercial Plans $1,907.00 ↑ +191%
UnitedHealthCare Non-PPO Other Commercial Plan $2,020.00 ↑ +208%
UnitedHealthCare Employee $2,061.00 ↑ +214%
UnitedHealthCare Options PPO $2,248.00 ↑ +243%
Healthlink HMO $3,085.00 ↑ +371%
Centene Ambetter Exchange $3,148.00 ↑ +380%
Healthlink PPO $4,616.00 ↑ +604%

Visitor-reported prices

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Breast punct aspir cyst, bil at other Missouri hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital Saint Louis $1,026.02 $45.77 – $3,868.00
SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital - Lake Saint Louis Lake Saint Louis $1,847.45 $46.86 – $2,302.00
SSM Health DePaul Hospital - St. Louis Bridgeton $1,847.45 $46.86 – $2,302.00
SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital- Wentzville Wentzville $1,847.45 $46.86 – $2,302.00
SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital - St. Charles Saint Charles $1,847.45 $46.86 – $2,302.00
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - St. Louis Richmond Heights $1,847.45 $46.86 – $2,302.00
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Jefferson City Jefferson City $422.40 $705.37 – $2,277.00
Mercy Hospital Aurora Aurora $215.80 $49.05 – $923.69

All Missouri hospitals for this procedure →