Surgical pathology level 6 gross & microscopic examination 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

$894.40

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.

$1,118.00

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.

$573.53 with Sanford Health Plan Align vs $1,039.63 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 $573.53 ↓ -36%
Security Health Plan Commercial $614.90 ↓ -31%
Ucare Medicare Replacement $616.02 ↓ -31%
Wellmark SD Medicare Replacement $616.02 ↓ -31%
Health Partners Medicare Replacement $621.61 ↓ -30%
Aetna Medicare Replacement $621.61 ↓ -30%
United Healthcare Medicare Replacement $621.61 ↓ -30%
Great Plains Medicare Advantage Medicare Replacement $621.61 ↓ -30%
Primewest Medicare Replacement $633.91 ↓ -29%
Health Partners State Employees $723.35 ↓ -19%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange True $775.00 ↓ -13%
Health Partners Commercial $838.50 ↓ -6%
Sanford Health Plan Group Health/True $883.67 ↓ -1%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange Commercial $911.73 ↑ +2%
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota State Employees $914.52 ↑ +2%
Medica Choice $922.35 ↑ +3%
United Healthcare Commercial + Top 20 $933.53 ↑ +4%
Wellmark PPO $961.48 ↑ +8%
Aetna Commercial $971.54 ↑ +9%
Ucare Commercial $982.27 ↑ +10%
Medica Elect $986.08 ↑ +10%
Cigna Commercial $1,006.20 ↑ +13%
Multiplan Commercial $1,006.20 ↑ +13%
Healthez Commercial $1,006.20 ↑ +13%
First Choice Health Network Commercial $1,006.20 ↑ +13%
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota Commercial/Federal $1,034.37 ↑ +16%
Sanford Health Plan Commercial/ND Pers $1,039.63 ↑ +16%

Visitor-reported prices

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Surgical pathology level 6 gross & microscopic examination at other South-dakota hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Sanford USD Medical Center Sioux Falls $996.80 $381.13 – $1,121.40
Sanford Hospital Webster Webster $829.60 $325.62 – $933.30
Sanford Chamberlain Medical Center Chamberlain $740.80 $316.69 – $833.40
Sanford Canton Inwood Medical Center Canton $968.00 $413.82 – $1,089.00
Sanford Vermillion Hospital Vermillion $963.20 $355.18 – $1,083.60
Sanford Aberdeen Medical Center Aberdeen $1,336.00 $740.65 – $1,503.00

All South-dakota hospitals for this procedure →