Perq plmt bile duct stent 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

$9,775.00

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.

$19,550.00

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.

$5,008.46 with Bcbs vs $29,543.00 with Cigna — 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 Employee $5,008.46 ↓ -49%
Bcbs Medicare Managed Care Plan $5,843.68 ↓ -40%
Humana Medicare Managed Care - Ppo $5,933.56 ↓ -39%
Clover Health Medicare Managed Care Plan $5,960.56 ↓ -39%
Aetna Medicare Managed Care Plan $5,992.31 ↓ -39%
Absolute Total Care Ambetter Exchange $6,281.96 ↓ -36%
Molina Exchange $6,428.05 ↓ -34%
Bcbs Bluechoice Exchange $6,551.61 ↓ -33%
Bcbs Blueessentials Exchange $6,551.61 ↓ -33%
Bcbs State Other Commercial Plan $6,677.94 ↓ -32%
Aetna All Commercial Plans $9,863.00 ↑ +1%
Bcbs Preferred Blue Ppo $11,246.28 ↑ +15%
Bcbs Bluechoice Hmo $12,354.02 ↑ +26%
Unitedhealthcare All Commercial Plans $20,575.00 ↑ +110%
Cigna All Commercial Plans $29,543.00 ↑ +202%

Visitor-reported prices

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Perq plmt bile duct stent at other South-carolina hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MUSC Health Florence Medical Center Florence $9,711.00 $5,008.46 – $12,500.00
St Francis Downtown Greenville $6,026.40 not published
MUSC Health Orangeburg Medical Center Orangeburg $6,821.00 $5,622.81 – $6,185.09
MUSC Health Main Campus - Charleston Charleston $6,821.00 $3,646.87 – $6,185.09
MUSC Health Black River Medical Center Cades $4,933.00 $4,449.61 – $11,904.00
MUSC Health Lancaster Medical Center Lancaster $2,222.50 $5,008.46 – $21,847.00
HCA HEALTHCARE BRIGHTON PARK ER MONCKS CORNER not published $376.72 – $7,252.24
LIVE OAK MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS Ladson not published $376.72 – $7,252.24

All South-carolina hospitals for this procedure →