Breastbone (Sternum) X-ray at Sanford Clear Lake Medical Center

701 3rd Ave S, Clear Lake, SD · Sanford Health · · NPI 1851305296

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

$396.00

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.

Full explanation →

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

$495.00

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.

$253.94 with Sanford Health Plan Align vs $460.30 with Sanford Health Plan — 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 $253.94 ↓ -36%
Security Health Plan Commercial $272.25 ↓ -31%
Ucare Medicare Replacement $272.75 ↓ -31%
Wellmark SD Medicare Replacement $272.75 ↓ -31%
Health Partners Medicare Replacement $275.22 ↓ -31%
Aetna Medicare Replacement $275.22 ↓ -31%
United Healthcare Medicare Replacement $275.22 ↓ -31%
Great Plains Medicare Advantage Medicare Replacement $275.22 ↓ -31%
Primewest Medicare Replacement $280.67 ↓ -29%
Health Partners State Employees $320.27 ↓ -19%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange True $343.13 ↓ -13%
Health Partners Commercial $371.25 ↓ -6%
Sanford Health Plan Group Health/True $391.25 ↓ -1%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange Commercial $403.67 ↑ +2%
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota State Employees $404.91 ↑ +2%
Medica Choice $408.38 ↑ +3%
United Healthcare Commercial + Top 20 $413.33 ↑ +4%
Wellmark PPO $425.70 ↑ +8%
Aetna Commercial $430.16 ↑ +9%
Ucare Commercial $434.91 ↑ +10%
Medica Elect $436.59 ↑ +10%
Cigna Commercial $445.50 ↑ +13%
Multiplan Commercial $445.50 ↑ +13%
Healthez Commercial $445.50 ↑ +13%
First Choice Health Network Commercial $445.50 ↑ +13%
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota Commercial/Federal $457.97 ↑ +16%
Sanford Health Plan Commercial/ND Pers $460.30 ↑ +16%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Breastbone (Sternum) X-ray at other South-dakota hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Sanford USD Medical Center Sioux Falls $475.20 $33.62 – $534.60
Sanford Hospital Webster Webster $386.40 $151.66 – $434.70
Sanford Chamberlain Medical Center Chamberlain $368.80 $157.66 – $414.90
Sanford Canton Inwood Medical Center Canton $296.00 $126.54 – $333.00
Sanford Vermillion Hospital Vermillion $332.00 $122.43 – $373.50
Sanford Aberdeen Medical Center Aberdeen $340.00 $83.65 – $382.50

All South-dakota hospitals for this procedure →