Ventilator initial day 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

$492.00

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.

$984.00

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.

$425.00 with Bcbs vs $1,057.81 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 $425.00 ↓ -14%
Bcbs Lowcountry Blue Exchange $425.00 ↓ -14%
Bcbs Employee $429.17 ↓ -13%
Bcbs Employee $429.17 ↓ -13%
Bcbs Bluechoice Exchange $560.98 ↑ +14%
Bcbs Bluechoice Exchange $560.98 ↑ +14%
Bcbs Blueessentials Exchange $560.98 ↑ +14%
Bcbs Blueessentials Exchange $560.98 ↑ +14%
Bcbs State Other Commercial Plan $572.22 ↑ +16%
Bcbs State Other Commercial Plan $572.22 ↑ +16%
Bcbs Medicare Managed Care Plan $597.16 ↑ +21%
Bcbs Medicare Managed Care Plan $597.16 ↑ +21%
Humana Medicare Managed Care - Ppo $606.35 ↑ +23%
Humana Medicare Managed Care - Ppo $606.35 ↑ +23%
Clover Health Medicare Managed Care Plan $609.11 ↑ +24%
Clover Health Medicare Managed Care Plan $609.11 ↑ +24%
Aetna Medicare Managed Care Plan $612.35 ↑ +24%
Aetna Medicare Managed Care Plan $612.35 ↑ +24%
Absolute Total Care Ambetter Exchange $641.95 ↑ +30%
Absolute Total Care Ambetter Exchange $641.95 ↑ +30%
Molina Exchange $656.88 ↑ +34%
Molina Exchange $656.88 ↑ +34%
Bcbs Preferred Blue Ppo $962.96 ↑ +96%
Bcbs Preferred Blue Ppo $962.96 ↑ +96%
Bcbs Bluechoice Hmo $1,057.81 ↑ +115%
Bcbs Bluechoice Hmo $1,057.81 ↑ +115%

Visitor-reported prices

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Ventilator initial day at other South-carolina hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MUSC Health Florence Medical Center Florence $1,470.50 $429.17 – $632.05
MUSC Health Kershaw Medical Center Camden $738.00 $314.27 – $656.88
St Francis Downtown Greenville $1,680.60 not published
St Francis Eastside Greenville $1,680.60 not published
MUSC Health Orangeburg Medical Center Orangeburg $1,596.00 not published
MUSC Health Main Campus - Charleston Charleston $1,596.00 $312.27 – $632.05
MUSC Health Black River Medical Center Cades $888.00 $381.00 – $632.05
MUSC Health Lancaster Medical Center Lancaster $927.00 $429.17 – $660.38

All South-carolina hospitals for this procedure →