Dilate esophagus 1/mult pass at MUSC Health Main Campus - Charleston

169 Ashley Ave, Charleston, SC · Muschealth · · NPI 1932382330

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

$853.50

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.

$1,707.00

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.

$426.27 with Bcbs vs $1,148.92 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 →

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 $426.27 ↓ -50%
Bcbs Blueessentials Exchange $448.70 ↓ -47%
Bcbs Bluechoice Exchange $448.70 ↓ -47%
Bcbs Employee $585.23 ↓ -31%
Bcbs State Other Commercial Plan $780.30 ↓ -9%
Aetna Medicare Managed Care Plan $843.57 ↓ -1%
Clover Health Medicare Managed Care Plan $860.44 ↑ +1%
Absolute Total Care Ambetter Exchange $906.83 ↑ +6%
Molina Exchange $927.92 ↑ +9%
Bcbs Preferred Blue Ppo $1,070.16 ↑ +25%
Bcbs Bluechoice Hmo $1,148.92 ↑ +35%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
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Dilate esophagus 1/mult pass at other South-carolina hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St Francis Downtown Greenville $7,234.26 $1,838.02 – $1,856.40
MUSC Health Orangeburg Medical Center Orangeburg $853.50 $843.57 – $927.92
MUSC Health Black River Medical Center Cades $568.00 $520.38 – $3,931.00
HCA HEALTHCARE BRIGHTON PARK ER MONCKS CORNER not published $795.91 – $1,019.57
LIVE OAK MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS Ladson not published $795.91 – $1,019.57
MUSC Health Florence Medical Center Florence not published $585.23 – $4,128.00
MUSC Health Kershaw Medical Center Camden not published $429.01 – $3,633.00
MUSC Health Chester Medical Center Chester not published $585.23 – $4,604.00

All South-carolina hospitals for this procedure →