Incise inner ear 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

$1,459.15

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.

$2,653.00

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.

$154.71 with BCBS vs $5,162.00 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 $154.71 ↓ -89%
BCBS Anthem Blue Preferred HMO/POS $158.01 ↓ -89%
BCBS Anthem Blue Access Choice All Commercial Plans $158.01 ↓ -89%
BCBS Anthem Blue Access PPO $170.32 ↓ -88%
BCBS Anthem Medicare Managed Care Plan $1,523.01 ↑ +4%
Aetna Medicare Managed Care Plan $1,554.09 ↑ +7%
Centene Wellcare Medicare Managed Care - PPO $1,569.63 ↑ +8%
Humana Medicare Managed Care Plan $1,580.51 ↑ +8%
Aetna Advantra Medicare Managed Care Plan $1,585.17 ↑ +9%
Essence Medicare Managed Care Plan $1,600.71 ↑ +10%
Oscar Exchange $1,864.91 ↑ +28%
Cigna All Commercial Plans $2,487.00 ↑ +70%
UnitedHealthCare Non-PPO Other Commercial Plan $2,544.00 ↑ +74%
UnitedHealthCare Employee $2,595.00 ↑ +78%
Aetna Carelink All Commercial Plans $2,628.00 ↑ +80%
UnitedHealthCare Options PPO $2,831.00 ↑ +94%
Centene Ambetter Exchange $3,148.00 ↑ +116%
Healthlink HMO $3,508.00 ↑ +140%
Aetna All Commercial Plans $4,059.00 ↑ +178%
Healthlink PPO $5,162.00 ↑ +254%

Visitor-reported prices

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Incise inner ear at other Missouri hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital Saint Louis not published $131.61 – $6,335.00
Mercy Orthopedic Hospital Springfield Ozark $5,274.05 $0.33 – $4,164.00
SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital - Lake Saint Louis Lake Saint Louis not published $134.74 – $4,306.00
SSM Health DePaul Hospital - St. Louis Bridgeton not published $134.74 – $4,306.00
SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital- Wentzville Wentzville not published $134.74 – $4,306.00
SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital - St. Charles Saint Charles not published $134.74 – $4,306.00
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - St. Louis Richmond Heights not published $134.74 – $4,306.00
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Jefferson City Jefferson City not published $1,545.54 – $2,857.00

All Missouri hospitals for this procedure →