Assay of methemalbumin at SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital- Wentzville

500 Medical Drive, Wentzville, MO · SSM Health · · NPI 1851833305

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

not published by hospital

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.

not published by hospital

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.

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The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$10.74 with UnitedHealthCare vs $44.29 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
UnitedHealthCare St. Louis University Employee $10.74
UnitedHealthCare Options PPO $10.74
UnitedHealthCare All Commercial Plans $10.74
BCBS Anthem Pathway Exchange $15.27
BCBS Anthem Blue Access Choice PPO $15.69
BCBS Anthem Blue Preferred HMO/POS $15.76
BCBS Anthem Blue Access PPO $17.00
Cigna OAP Other Commercial Plan $18.29
Healthlink HMO $44.29
Healthlink Employers Choice All Commercial Plans $44.29

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
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Assay of methemalbumin at other Missouri hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital - Lake Saint Louis Lake Saint Louis not published $10.74 – $44.29
SSM Health DePaul Hospital - St. Louis Bridgeton not published $10.74 – $44.29
SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital Saint Louis not published $10.53 – $22.94
SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital - St. Charles Saint Charles not published $10.74 – $44.29
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - St. Louis Richmond Heights not published $10.74 – $44.29
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Jefferson City Jefferson City not published $9.67 – $19.33
SSM Health St. Clare Hospital - Fenton Fenton not published $10.74 – $44.29
SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital Saint Louis not published $10.74 – $20.94

All Missouri hospitals for this procedure →