Carotene at Hackensack University Medical Center

30 Prospect Avenue, Hackensack, NJ · Hackensack Meridian Health · · NPI 1457456279

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Dec 31, 2025 · Ingested Aug 13, 2026

$9.22

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.

$44.00

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.

$7.38 with OPTUM HEALTH vs $126.37 with AETNA — 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
OPTUM HEALTH MANAGED MEDICAID $7.38 ↓ -20%
HORIZON MANAGED MEDICAID $8.92 ↓ -3%
WELLCARE MANAGED MEDICAID $9.22 ↑ +0%
AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $9.22 ↑ +0%
VACCN ALL PRODUCTS $9.22 ↑ +0%
AMERIGROUP MANAGED MEDICAID $9.22 ↑ +0%
HORIZON MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $9.22 ↑ +0%
WELLCARE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $9.22 ↑ +0%
SEOUL MEDICAL GROUP ALL PRODUCTS $9.22 ↑ +0%
OPTUM HEALTH MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $9.22 ↑ +0%
CLOVER MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $9.22 ↑ +0%
HORIZON BCBS BRAVEN MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $9.22 ↑ +0%
UNITED COMMUNITY/AMERICHOICE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $9.68 ↑ +5%
AETNA MANAGED MEDICAID $11.04 ↑ +20%
LHP HEALTH ALL PRODUCTS $11.53 ↑ +25%
KARNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $12.26 ↑ +33%
OXFORD ALL PRODUCTS $22.00 ↑ +139%
UNITED HEALTHCARE HMO $24.86 ↑ +170%
HORIZON OMNIA $28.82 ↑ +213%
HORIZON WORKERS COMP $30.30 ↑ +229%
INTERGROUP ALL PRODUCTS $30.80 ↑ +234%
BERGEN RISK ALL PRODUCTS $33.00 ↑ +258%
HORIZON PIP $33.00 ↑ +258%
BRIGHTON HEALTH PLAN ALL PRODUCTS $34.76 ↑ +277%
CIGNA BH $35.20 ↑ +282%
CHN ALL PRODUCTS $37.40 ↑ +306%
MULTIPLAN - PHCS ALL PRODUCTS $37.40 ↑ +306%
ACTIVECARE FIRST MCO ALL PRODUCTS $37.40 ↑ +306%
QUALCARE PPO $38.81 ↑ +321%
QUALCARE WORKERS COMP $38.81 ↑ +321%
QUALCARE HMO $38.81 ↑ +321%
CIGNA HMO $41.40 ↑ +349%
CIGNA PPO $41.40 ↑ +349%
HORIZON HMO $41.91 ↑ +355%
HORIZON INDEMNITY $42.12 ↑ +357%
HORIZON SHP $42.39 ↑ +360%
HORIZON FEDERAL $42.91 ↑ +365%
HORIZON PPO $42.91 ↑ +365%
AMERIHEALTH LOCAL HMO $44.00 ↑ +377%
AMERIHEALTH REGIONAL HMO $44.00 ↑ +377%
AETNA PPO $126.37 ↑ +1271%
AETNA HMO $126.37 ↑ +1271%
AETNA ASA $126.37 ↑ +1271%

Visitor-reported prices

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Carotene at other New-jersey hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Bayshore Medical Center Holmdel $9.22 $9.22 – $42.25
Ocean University Medical Center Brick $9.22 $6.60 – $42.25
JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute (JRI) Edison $9.22 $6.60 – $43.39
Jersey Shore University Medical Center Neptune City $9.22 $7.38 – $42.25
Palisades Medical Center North Bergen $9.22 $9.22 – $42.25
Raritan Bay Medical Center Perth Amboy $9.22 $9.22 – $42.25
Riverview Medical Center Red Bank $9.22 $6.90 – $42.25
Southern Ocean Medical Center Manahawkin $9.22 $9.22 – $42.25

All New-jersey hospitals for this procedure →