Incise tear duct opening 68440 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

$179.16

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.

$325.74

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.

$117.32 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 $117.32 ↓ -35%
BCBS Anthem Blue Preferred HMO/POS $119.82 ↓ -33%
BCBS Anthem Blue Access Choice All Commercial Plans $119.82 ↓ -33%
BCBS Anthem Blue Access PPO $129.16 ↓ -28%
BCBS Anthem Medicare Managed Care Plan $311.56 ↑ +74%
Aetna Medicare Managed Care Plan $317.92 ↑ +77%
Centene Wellcare Medicare Managed Care - PPO $321.10 ↑ +79%
Humana Medicare Managed Care Plan $323.32 ↑ +80%
Aetna Advantra Medicare Managed Care Plan $324.28 ↑ +81%
Essence Medicare Managed Care Plan $327.46 ↑ +83%
Oscar Exchange $381.50 ↑ +113%
UnitedHealthCare Employee $537.00 ↑ +200%
UnitedHealthCare Non-PPO Other Commercial Plan $760.00 ↑ +324%
UnitedHealthCare Options PPO $961.00 ↑ +436%
Aetna Carelink All Commercial Plans $1,234.00 ↑ +589%
Cigna All Commercial Plans $1,373.00 ↑ +666%
Aetna All Commercial Plans $1,907.00 ↑ +964%
Healthlink HMO $3,085.00 ↑ +1622%
Centene Ambetter Exchange $3,148.00 ↑ +1657%
Healthlink PPO $4,616.00 ↑ +2476%

Visitor-reported prices

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Incise tear duct opening 68440 at other Missouri hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital Saint Louis not published $99.81 – $3,886.00
Mercy Orthopedic Hospital Springfield Ozark $549.25 $67.49 – $3,772.00
SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital - Lake Saint Louis Lake Saint Louis not published $102.17 – $2,302.00
SSM Health DePaul Hospital - St. Louis Bridgeton not published $102.17 – $2,302.00
SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital- Wentzville Wentzville not published $102.17 – $3,886.00
SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital - St. Charles Saint Charles not published $102.17 – $2,302.00
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - St. Louis Richmond Heights not published $102.17 – $2,302.00
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Jefferson City Jefferson City not published $316.17 – $2,277.00

All Missouri hospitals for this procedure →