Surgical pathology level 5 gross & microscopic examination 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

$555.20

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.

$694.00

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.

$237.35 with Sanford Health Plan Align vs $624.60 with First Choice Health Network — 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 $237.35 ↓ -57%
Wellmark SD Medicare Replacement $254.70 ↓ -54%
Ucare Medicare Replacement $254.70 ↓ -54%
Health Partners Medicare Replacement $257.47 ↓ -54%
United Healthcare Medicare Replacement $257.47 ↓ -54%
Great Plains Medicare Advantage Medicare Replacement $257.47 ↓ -54%
Aetna Medicare Replacement $257.47 ↓ -54%
Primewest Medicare Replacement $262.33 ↓ -53%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange Commercial $380.24 ↓ -32%
Security Health Plan Commercial $381.70 ↓ -31%
Sanford Health Plan Group Health/TRUE $433.61 ↓ -22%
Sanford Health Plan Exchange True $447.35 ↓ -19%
Health Partners State Employees $449.02 ↓ -19%
Sanford Health Plan Commercial/ND Pers $510.09 ↓ -8%
Health Partners Commercial $520.50 ↓ -6%
Medica Choice $572.55 ↑ +3%
United Healthcare Commercial + Top 20 $579.49 ↑ +4%
Wellmark SD Commercial $596.84 ↑ +8%
Aetna Commercial $603.09 ↑ +9%
Ucare Commercial $609.75 ↑ +10%
Medica Elect $612.11 ↑ +10%
Healthez Commercial $624.60 ↑ +13%
Multiplan Commercial $624.60 ↑ +13%
First Choice Health Network Commercial $624.60 ↑ +13%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Surgical pathology level 5 gross & microscopic examination at other South-dakota hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Sanford Clear Lake Medical Center Clear Lake $576.80 $369.87 – $648.90
Sanford USD Medical Center Sioux Falls $700.80 $159.32 – $788.40
Sanford Hospital Webster Webster $588.00 $230.79 – $661.50
Sanford Canton Inwood Medical Center Canton $680.00 $290.70 – $765.00
Sanford Vermillion Hospital Vermillion $677.60 $249.87 – $762.30
Sanford Aberdeen Medical Center Aberdeen $558.40 $309.56 – $628.20

All South-dakota hospitals for this procedure →