Abdominal paracentesis w/image guidance at MUSC Health Kershaw Medical Center

1315 Roberts Street, Camden, SC · Muschealth · · NPI 1487220307

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Apr 1, 2026 · Ingested Sep 17, 2026

$1,730.50

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.

$3,461.00

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.

$574.59 with Bcbs vs $3,633.00 with Unitedhealthcare — 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
Bcbs Lowcountry Blue Exchange $574.59 ↓ -67%
Bcbs Bluechoice Exchange $604.83 ↓ -65%
Bcbs Blueessentials Exchange $604.83 ↓ -65%
Bcbs Employee $784.13 ↓ -55%
Bcbs Medicare Managed Care Plan $876.70 ↓ -49%
Clover Health Medicare Managed Care Plan $894.24 ↓ -48%
Aetna Medicare Managed Care Plan $920.54 ↓ -47%
Absolute Total Care Ambetter Exchange $942.46 ↓ -46%
Molina Exchange $964.37 ↓ -44%
Bcbs State Other Commercial Plan $1,045.50 ↓ -40%
Bcbs Preferred Blue Ppo $2,089.11 ↑ +21%
Bcbs Bluechoice Hmo $2,294.89 ↑ +33%
Unitedhealthcare All Commercial Plans $3,633.00 ↑ +110%

Visitor-reported prices

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Abdominal paracentesis w/image guidance at other South-carolina hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MUSC Health Florence Medical Center Florence $2,041.00 $784.13 – $4,128.00
St Francis Downtown Greenville $2,981.79 $868.75 – $877.44
St Francis Eastside Greenville $1,933.20 not published
MUSC Health Chester Medical Center Chester $1,187.50 $777.01 – $4,604.00
MUSC Health Orangeburg Medical Center Orangeburg $870.00 $843.57 – $927.92
MUSC Health Main Campus - Charleston Charleston $870.00 $570.92 – $927.92
MUSC Health Black River Medical Center Cades $641.50 $696.59 – $3,931.00
MUSC Health Lancaster Medical Center Lancaster $2,533.50 $784.13 – $8,099.00

All South-carolina hospitals for this procedure →