Culture body fluid at Southern Ocean Medical Center

1140 Route 72 West, Manahawkin, NJ · Hackensack Meridian Health · · NPI 1831601590

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Dec 31, 2025 · Ingested Sep 4, 2026

$8.62

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.

$255.00

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.

$8.62 with CLOVER vs $70.82 with AMERIHEALTH — 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
CLOVER MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $8.62 ↑ +0%
WELLCARE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $8.62 ↑ +0%
WELLCARE MANAGED MEDICAID $8.62 ↑ +0%
AMERIGROUP MANAGED MEDICAID $8.62 ↑ +0%
VACCN ALL PRODUCTS $8.62 ↑ +0%
SEOUL MEDICAL GROUP ALL PRODUCTS $8.62 ↑ +0%
UNITED COMMUNITY/AMERICHOICE MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $9.05 ↑ +5%
AETNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $9.40 ↑ +9%
UNITED HEALTHCARE DSNP $10.34 ↑ +20%
KARNA MEDICARE ADVANTAGE $11.23 ↑ +30%
AETNA MANAGED MEDICAID $13.32 ↑ +55%
UNITED HEALTHCARE HMO $17.69 ↑ +105%
UNITED HEALTHCARE MANAGED MEDICAID $18.90 ↑ +119%
OXFORD ALL PRODUCTS $38.95 ↑ +352%
CIGNA PPO $39.50 ↑ +358%
CIGNA HMO $39.50 ↑ +358%
HORIZON MANAGED MEDICAID $45.63 ↑ +429%
HORIZON PIP $46.87 ↑ +444%
HORIZON WORKERS COMP $48.38 ↑ +461%
HORIZON OMNIA $51.99 ↑ +503%
BERGEN RISK ALL PRODUCTS $54.00 ↑ +526%
AETNA ASA $56.38 ↑ +554%
CIGNA BH $57.60 ↑ +568%
BRIGHTON HEALTH PLAN ALL PRODUCTS $57.60 ↑ +568%
MULTIPLAN - PHCS ALL PRODUCTS $61.20 ↑ +610%
AETNA HMO $61.34 ↑ +612%
AETNA PPO $61.34 ↑ +612%
HORIZON SHP $61.80 ↑ +617%
AMERIHEALTH LOCAL HMO $62.52 ↑ +625%
HORIZON INDEMNITY $64.08 ↑ +643%
HORIZON HMO $64.12 ↑ +644%
QUALCARE HMO $65.38 ↑ +658%
QUALCARE WORKERS COMP $65.38 ↑ +658%
QUALCARE PPO $65.38 ↑ +658%
HORIZON PPO $65.82 ↑ +664%
AMERIHEALTH REGIONAL HMO $70.82 ↑ +722%
HORIZON BCBS BRAVEN MEDICARE ADVANTAGE not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

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Culture body fluid at other New-jersey hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Bayshore Medical Center Holmdel $8.62 $8.62 – $39.50
Hackensack University Medical Center Hackensack $8.62 $6.90 – $38.71
Ocean University Medical Center Brick $8.62 $8.62 – $39.50
JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute (JRI) Edison $8.62 $8.62 – $40.57
Jersey Shore University Medical Center Neptune City $8.62 $6.90 – $39.50
Palisades Medical Center North Bergen $8.62 $8.62 – $39.50
Raritan Bay Medical Center Perth Amboy $8.62 $8.62 – $39.50
Riverview Medical Center Red Bank $8.62 $8.62 – $39.50

All New-jersey hospitals for this procedure →