healthcosts.net

Chest CT scan (with contrast) at Sanford Medical Center Hillsboro

12 3rd St SE, Hillsboro, ND · Sanford Health · · NPI 1184725194

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Mar 4, 2026 · Ingested Aug 12, 2026

$1,701.60

Cash price

?

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.

$2,127.00

Gross charge

?

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.

$446.60 with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota vs $1,975.34 with Sanford Health Plan — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
?

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
?

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
?

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
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota PMAP $446.60 ↓ -74%
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota Commercial $893.20 ↓ -48%
Sanford Health Plan Align Medicare Replacement $969.91 ↓ -43%
Ucare Medicare Replacement $1,042.23 ↓ -39%
Aetna Medicare Replacement $1,050.74 ↓ -38%
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota Medicare Replacement $1,050.74 ↓ -38%
Great Plains Medicare Advantage Medicare Replacement $1,050.74 ↓ -38%
Health Partners Medicare Replacement $1,050.74 ↓ -38%
United Healthcare Medicare Replacement $1,050.74 ↓ -38%
Primewest Medicare Replacement $1,072.01 ↓ -37%
Security Health Plan Commercial $1,169.85 ↓ -31%
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota Commercial $1,380.85 ↓ -19%
Health Partners Commercial $1,659.06 ↓ -3%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange True $1,679.05 ↓ -1%
Medica Choice $1,754.78 ↑ +3%
United Healthcare Commercial + Top 20 $1,776.05 ↑ +4%
Aetna Commercial $1,848.36 ↑ +9%
Ucare Commercial $1,868.78 ↑ +10%
Medica Elect $1,876.01 ↑ +10%
First Choice Health Network Commercial $1,914.30 ↑ +13%
Healthez Commercial $1,914.30 ↑ +13%
Multiplan Commercial $1,914.30 ↑ +13%
Sanford Health Plan Commercial/ND Pers/Group Health/True/SD Exchange Commercial $1,975.34 ↑ +16%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Chest CT scan (with contrast) at other North-dakota hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Sanford Medical Center Bismarck Bismarck $1,855.20 $169.12 – $2,087.10
Sanford Fargo Medical Center Fargo $2,702.40 $133.87 – $3,040.20
Sanford Medical Center Mayville Mayville $1,701.60 $446.60 – $1,914.30

All North-dakota hospitals for this procedure →