healthcosts.net

Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) X-ray at Sanford Chamberlain Medical Center

300 S Byron Blvd, Chamberlain, SD · Sanford Health · · NPI 1134140825

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Mar 4, 2026 · Ingested Aug 12, 2026

$428.80

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.

Full explanation →

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

$536.00

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.

Full explanation →

The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$183.31 with Sanford Health Plan Align vs $482.40 with Multiplan — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
?

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
Sanford Health Plan Align Medicare Replacement $183.31 ↓ -57%
Ucare Medicare Replacement $196.71 ↓ -54%
Wellmark SD Medicare Replacement $196.71 ↓ -54%
Aetna Medicare Replacement $198.86 ↓ -54%
Great Plains Medicare Advantage Medicare Replacement $198.86 ↓ -54%
Health Partners Medicare Replacement $198.86 ↓ -54%
United Healthcare Medicare Replacement $198.86 ↓ -54%
Primewest Medicare Replacement $202.61 ↓ -53%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange Commercial $293.67 ↓ -32%
Security Health Plan Commercial $294.80 ↓ -31%
Sanford Health Plan Group Health/TRUE $334.89 ↓ -22%
Sanford Health Plan Exchange True $345.51 ↓ -19%
Health Partners State Employees $346.79 ↓ -19%
Sanford Health Plan Commercial/ND Pers $393.96 ↓ -8%
Health Partners Commercial $402.00 ↓ -6%
Medica Choice $442.20 ↑ +3%
United Healthcare Commercial + Top 20 $447.56 ↑ +4%
Wellmark SD Commercial $460.96 ↑ +8%
Aetna Commercial $465.78 ↑ +9%
Ucare Commercial $470.93 ↑ +10%
Medica Elect $472.75 ↑ +10%
First Choice Health Network Commercial $482.40 ↑ +13%
Healthez Commercial $482.40 ↑ +13%
Multiplan Commercial $482.40 ↑ +13%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) X-ray at other South-dakota hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Sanford Clear Lake Medical Center Clear Lake $425.60 $272.92 – $478.80
Sanford USD Medical Center Sioux Falls $585.60 $39.94 – $658.80
Sanford Hospital Webster Webster $444.00 $174.27 – $499.50
Sanford Canton Inwood Medical Center Canton $331.20 $141.59 – $372.60
Sanford Vermillion Hospital Vermillion $344.00 $126.85 – $387.00
Sanford Aberdeen Medical Center Aberdeen $439.20 $101.02 – $494.10

All South-dakota hospitals for this procedure →