Consultation pathology during surgery cytological exam initial site 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

$88.00

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.

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

$110.00

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.

$56.43 with Sanford Health Plan Align vs $102.29 with Sanford Health Plan — 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
Sanford Health Plan Align Medicare Replacement $56.43 ↓ -36%
Security Health Plan Commercial $60.50 ↓ -31%
Ucare Medicare Replacement $60.61 ↓ -31%
Wellmark SD Medicare Replacement $60.61 ↓ -31%
Health Partners Medicare Replacement $61.16 ↓ -31%
Aetna Medicare Replacement $61.16 ↓ -31%
United Healthcare Medicare Replacement $61.16 ↓ -31%
Great Plains Medicare Advantage Medicare Replacement $61.16 ↓ -31%
Primewest Medicare Replacement $62.37 ↓ -29%
Health Partners State Employees $71.17 ↓ -19%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange True $76.25 ↓ -13%
Health Partners Commercial $82.50 ↓ -6%
Sanford Health Plan Group Health/True $86.94 ↓ -1%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange Commercial $89.71 ↑ +2%
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota State Employees $89.98 ↑ +2%
Medica Choice $90.75 ↑ +3%
United Healthcare Commercial + Top 20 $91.85 ↑ +4%
Wellmark PPO $94.60 ↑ +8%
Aetna Commercial $95.59 ↑ +9%
Ucare Commercial $96.65 ↑ +10%
Medica Elect $97.02 ↑ +10%
Cigna Commercial $99.00 ↑ +13%
Multiplan Commercial $99.00 ↑ +13%
Healthez Commercial $99.00 ↑ +13%
First Choice Health Network Commercial $99.00 ↑ +13%
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota Commercial/Federal $101.77 ↑ +16%
Sanford Health Plan Commercial/ND Pers $102.29 ↑ +16%

Visitor-reported prices

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Consultation pathology during surgery cytological exam initial site at other South-dakota hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Sanford USD Medical Center Sioux Falls $115.20 $48.24 – $857.75
Sanford Hospital Webster Webster $103.20 $40.51 – $116.10
Sanford Chamberlain Medical Center Chamberlain $185.60 $79.34 – $208.80
Sanford Canton Inwood Medical Center Canton $108.00 $46.17 – $121.50
Sanford Vermillion Hospital Vermillion $101.60 $37.47 – $114.30
Sanford Aberdeen Medical Center Aberdeen $1,336.00 $740.65 – $1,503.00

All South-dakota hospitals for this procedure →