Red blood cells each unit 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

$358.00

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.

$716.00

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.

$150.57 with Bcbs vs $750.94 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 Medicare Managed Care Plan $150.57 ↓ -58%
Bcbs Medicare Managed Care Plan $150.57 ↓ -58%
Humana Medicare Managed Care - Ppo $152.08 ↓ -58%
Humana Medicare Managed Care - Ppo $152.08 ↓ -58%
Clover Health Medicare Managed Care Plan $153.58 ↓ -57%
Aetna Medicare Managed Care Plan $153.58 ↓ -57%
Aetna Medicare Managed Care Plan $153.58 ↓ -57%
Clover Health Medicare Managed Care Plan $153.58 ↓ -57%
Absolute Total Care Ambetter Exchange $161.86 ↓ -55%
Absolute Total Care Ambetter Exchange $161.86 ↓ -55%
Molina Exchange $165.63 ↓ -54%
Molina Exchange $165.63 ↓ -54%
Bcbs Lowcountry Blue Exchange $301.69 ↓ -16%
Bcbs Lowcountry Blue Exchange $301.69 ↓ -16%
Bcbs Employee $304.47 ↓ -15%
Bcbs Employee $304.47 ↓ -15%
Bcbs Bluechoice Exchange $398.24 ↑ +11%
Bcbs Blueessentials Exchange $398.24 ↑ +11%
Bcbs Bluechoice Exchange $398.24 ↑ +11%
Bcbs Blueessentials Exchange $398.24 ↑ +11%
Bcbs State Other Commercial Plan $405.96 ↑ +13%
Bcbs State Other Commercial Plan $405.96 ↑ +13%
Bcbs Preferred Blue Ppo $683.61 ↑ +91%
Bcbs Preferred Blue Ppo $683.61 ↑ +91%
Bcbs Bluechoice Hmo $750.94 ↑ +110%
Bcbs Bluechoice Hmo $750.94 ↑ +110%

Visitor-reported prices

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Red blood cells each unit at other South-carolina hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MUSC Health Florence Medical Center Florence $336.50 $150.57 – $165.63
MUSC Health Kershaw Medical Center Camden $606.00 $150.57 – $165.63
St Francis Eastside Greenville $309.00 not published
MUSC Health Orangeburg Medical Center Orangeburg $562.50 not published
MUSC Health Main Campus - Charleston Charleston $562.50 $150.57 – $221.67
MUSC Health Black River Medical Center Cades $506.00 $150.57 – $270.47
MUSC Health Lancaster Medical Center Lancaster $659.00 $150.57 – $165.63
HCA HEALTHCARE BRIGHTON PARK ER MONCKS CORNER not published $35.44 – $440.87

All South-carolina hospitals for this procedure →