Cataract Surgery at MUSC Health Main Campus - Charleston
169 Ashley Ave, Charleston, SC · Muschealth · · NPI 1932382330
$2,565.00
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.
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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
$5,130.00
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.
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The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$1,156.61 with Bcbs vs $3,117.40 with Bcbs — 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 →
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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 ?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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bcbs | Lowcountry Blue Exchange | $1,156.61 | ↓ -55% |
| Bcbs | Blueessentials Exchange | $1,217.48 | ↓ -53% |
| Bcbs | Bluechoice Exchange | $1,217.48 | ↓ -53% |
| Bcbs | Employee | $1,577.43 | ↓ -39% |
| Bcbs | State Other Commercial Plan | $2,103.24 | ↓ -18% |
| Aetna | Medicare Managed Care Plan | $2,146.46 | ↓ -16% |
| Clover Health | Medicare Managed Care Plan | $2,189.39 | ↓ -15% |
| Absolute Total Care | Ambetter Exchange | $2,307.44 | ↓ -10% |
| Molina | Exchange | $2,361.10 | ↓ -8% |
| Bcbs | Preferred Blue Ppo | $2,903.69 | ↑ +13% |
| Bcbs | Bluechoice Hmo | $3,117.40 | ↑ +22% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Cataract Surgery at other South-carolina hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| MUSC Health Kershaw Medical Center | Camden | $2,233.50 | $1,164.04 – $8,282.00 |
| St Francis Downtown | Greenville | $10,483.95 | $2,210.54 – $2,232.65 |
| MUSC Health Orangeburg Medical Center | Orangeburg | $2,565.00 | $2,146.46 – $2,361.10 |
| MUSC Health Black River Medical Center | Cades | $1,731.50 | $1,453.54 – $9,269.00 |
| HCA HEALTHCARE BRIGHTON PARK ER | MONCKS CORNER | not published | $2,145.30 – $3,641.31 |
| LIVE OAK MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS | Ladson | not published | $2,145.30 – $3,641.31 |
| MUSC Health Florence Medical Center | Florence | not published | $1,577.43 – $9,733.00 |
| MUSC Health Chester Medical Center | Chester | not published | $1,577.43 – $26,067.00 |