Upper Back (Thoracic Spine) X-ray (2 views) at University Hospitals St. John Medical Center

29000 Center Ridge Road, Westlake OH, OH · University Hospitals · · NPI 1841264868

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Jul 14, 2026 · Ingested Aug 13, 2026

$388.50

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.

$518.00

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.

$63.81 with Aetna vs $466.20 with Ohio Health Choice — 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
Aetna Commercial $63.81 ↓ -84%
Aetna Medicare Advantage $106.81 ↓ -73%
WellCare by AllWell Medicare Advantage $106.81 ↓ -73%
Anthem Medicare Advantage $106.81 ↓ -73%
Cigna Medicare Advantage $106.81 ↓ -73%
Devoted Health Medicare Advantage $106.81 ↓ -73%
Humana Medicare Advantage $106.81 ↓ -73%
Molina Medicare Advantage $106.81 ↓ -73%
Primetime Health Plan Medicare Advantage $106.81 ↓ -73%
SummaCare Medicare Advantage $106.81 ↓ -73%
The Health Plan Medicare Advantage $106.81 ↓ -73%
United Healthcare Medicare Advantage $106.81 ↓ -73%
Paramount Medicare Advantage $110.01 ↓ -72%
Perennial Advantage of Ohio Medicare Advantage $112.15 ↓ -71%
Valor Health Plans Medicare Advantage $112.15 ↓ -71%
Medical Mutual of Ohio Northern Ohio Commercial $126.91 ↓ -67%
Medical Mutual of Ohio MedFlex Commercial $157.47 ↓ -59%
University Health Employee Plan (Contigo) Commercial $161.25 ↓ -58%
Medical Mutual of Ohio SuperMed Commercial $175.08 ↓ -55%
CareSource Marketplace $192.26 ↓ -51%
Ambetter Commercial $192.26 ↓ -51%
Medical Mutual of Ohio NAS Commercial $192.70 ↓ -50%
United Healthcare Nexus Commercial $235.17 ↓ -39%
Amish Church Fund and Workers Aid Plan Fund $238.28 ↓ -39%
Amish Aid Community Plan Fund $238.28 ↓ -39%
Buckeye Plain Ministries Fund $238.28 ↓ -39%
Anthem Commercial $243.46 ↓ -37%
JP Farley Commercial $243.46 ↓ -37%
Immergrun Commercial $259.00 ↓ -33%
Christian Healthcare Ministries Fund $259.00 ↓ -33%
Sunrise Plan Communities Fund $259.00 ↓ -33%
United Healthcare Commercial $261.07 ↓ -33%
Anthem Traditional Commercial $261.59 ↓ -33%
SummaCare Commercial $264.18 ↓ -32%
AultCare Commercial $284.90 ↓ -27%
Cigna PPO Commercial $287.49 ↓ -26%
HealthSmart Commercial $336.70 ↓ -13%
Ohio Health Choice Preferred Health Choice Plus Commercial $336.70 ↓ -13%
The Health Plan Commercial $341.88 ↓ -12%
Medical Mutual Traditional/Health Ohio Commercial $362.60 ↓ -7%
Ohio Preferred Network Commercial $414.40 ↑ +7%
Beech Street Commercial $414.40 ↑ +7%
First Health Commercial $429.94 ↑ +11%
Century Health Network Commercial $440.30 ↑ +13%
Private Healthcare System Commercial $445.48 ↑ +15%
Cigna OAP Commercial $466.11 ↑ +20%
Fortified Provider Network Commercial $466.20 ↑ +20%
MultiPlan Commercial $466.20 ↑ +20%
Ohio Health Choice Commercial $466.20 ↑ +20%
Buckeye Managed Medicaid not published by hospital —
Aetna (Ohio Rise) Managed Medicaid not published by hospital —
Molina Managed Medicaid not published by hospital —
United Healthcare Managed Medicaid not published by hospital —
Amerihealth Caritas Managed Medicaid not published by hospital —
Humana Managed Medicaid not published by hospital —
CareSource Managed Medicaid not published by hospital —

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Upper Back (Thoracic Spine) X-ray (2 views) at other Ohio hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Jewish Hospital Cincinnati $364.20 not published
Anderson Hospital Cincinnati $364.20 not published
Clermont Hospital Batavia $364.20 not published
Kings Mills Hospital Mason $364.20 not published
Mercy West Hospital Cincinnati $364.20 not published
St Ritas Medical Center Lima $246.00 not published
Trinity Medical Center East Steubenville $298.06 $330.00 – $423.50
cleveland clinic main campus Cleveland $534.30 $1.10 – $660.60

All Ohio hospitals for this procedure →