Unlisted procedure spine at MUSC Health Chester Medical Center
1 Medical Park Drive, Chester, SC · Muschealth · · NPI 1558937474
$1,293.00
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.
$2,586.00
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.
$238.43 with Bcbs vs $7,897.03 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 | Medicare Managed Care Plan | $238.43 | ↓ -82% |
| Humana | Medicare Managed Care - Ppo | $242.10 | ↓ -81% |
| Clover Health | Medicare Managed Care Plan | $243.20 | ↓ -81% |
| Aetna | Medicare Managed Care Plan | $244.50 | ↓ -81% |
| Absolute Total Care | Ambetter Exchange | $256.31 | ↓ -80% |
| Molina | Exchange | $262.27 | ↓ -80% |
| Unitedhealthcare | All Commercial Plans | $2,261.00 | ↑ +75% |
| Bcbs | Lowcountry Blue Exchange | $3,172.68 | ↑ +145% |
| Bcbs | Employee | $3,201.53 | ↑ +148% |
| Bcbs | Blueessentials Exchange | $4,187.97 | ↑ +224% |
| Bcbs | Bluechoice Exchange | $4,187.97 | ↑ +224% |
| Bcbs | State Other Commercial Plan | $4,268.70 | ↑ +230% |
| Aetna | All Commercial Plans | $4,862.00 | ↑ +276% |
| Bcbs | Preferred Blue Ppo | $7,188.94 | ↑ +456% |
| Bcbs | Bluechoice Hmo | $7,897.03 | ↑ +511% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Unlisted procedure spine at other South-carolina hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| MUSC Health Florence Medical Center | Florence | $1,877.50 | $229.42 – $2,118.00 |
| MUSC Health Orangeburg Medical Center | Orangeburg | $5,185.00 | $229.42 – $252.36 |
| MUSC Health Main Campus - Charleston | Charleston | $5,185.00 | $229.42 – $2,331.18 |
| MUSC Health Black River Medical Center | Cades | $3,819.00 | $229.42 – $2,844.32 |
| HCA HEALTHCARE BRIGHTON PARK ER | MONCKS CORNER | not published | $1,019.57 – $4,154.73 |
| LIVE OAK MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS | Ladson | not published | $1,019.57 – $4,154.73 |
| MUSC Health Kershaw Medical Center | Camden | not published | $238.43 – $368.00 |
| MUSC Health Lancaster Medical Center | Lancaster | not published | $239.70 – $1,544.00 |