Bx/exc lymph node/open/superfic 38500 at MUSC Health Chester Medical Center

1 Medical Park Drive, Chester, SC · Muschealth · · NPI 1558937474

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

not published by hospital

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.

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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

not published by hospital

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.

$3,450.70 with Bcbs vs $9,839.00 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 $3,450.70
Bcbs Employee $3,482.28
Bcbs Medicare Managed Care Plan $3,784.71
Humana Medicare Managed Care - Ppo $3,842.92
Clover Health Medicare Managed Care Plan $3,860.40
Aetna Medicare Managed Care Plan $3,880.97
Absolute Total Care Ambetter Exchange $4,068.56
Molina Exchange $4,163.18
Bcbs Bluechoice Exchange $4,554.96
Bcbs Blueessentials Exchange $4,554.96
Bcbs State Other Commercial Plan $4,643.04
Aetna All Commercial Plans $5,192.00
Cigna All Commercial Plans $6,492.00
Bcbs Preferred Blue Ppo $7,818.90
Bcbs Bluechoice Hmo $8,589.05
Unitedhealthcare All Commercial Plans $9,839.00

Visitor-reported prices

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Bx/exc lymph node/open/superfic 38500 at other South-carolina hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MUSC Health Florence Medical Center Florence $2,696.00 $3,482.28 – $9,733.00
MUSC Health Kershaw Medical Center Camden $3,615.00 $2,551.77 – $8,282.00
St Francis Downtown Greenville $14,305.24 $3,750.39 – $3,787.89
St Francis Eastside Greenville $13,642.58 $3,750.39 – $3,787.89
MUSC Health Orangeburg Medical Center Orangeburg $3,664.50 $3,641.66 – $4,005.82
MUSC Health Main Campus - Charleston Charleston $3,664.50 $2,535.46 – $4,005.82
MUSC Health Black River Medical Center Cades $2,650.50 $3,093.57 – $9,269.00
HCA HEALTHCARE BRIGHTON PARK ER MONCKS CORNER not published $1,019.57 – $5,042.34

All South-carolina hospitals for this procedure →