Conversion ext bil drg cath at Sanford USD Medical Center

1305 W 18th St, Sioux Falls, SD · Sanford Health · · NPI 1821017880

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

$5,401.60

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.

$6,752.00

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.

$189.07 with Sanford Health Plan vs $6,076.80 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 Group Health/True $189.07 ↓ -96%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange True $189.07 ↓ -96%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange Commercial $189.07 ↓ -96%
Sanford Health Plan Commercial/ND Pers $189.07 ↓ -96%
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota PMAP $1,533.44 ↓ -72%
Health Partners State Employees $2,261.92 ↓ -58%
Health Partners Commercial $2,633.28 ↓ -51%
Sanford Health Plan Align Medicare Replacement $3,352.61 ↓ -38%
Ucare Medicare Replacement $3,599.64 ↓ -33%
Ucare Medicaid Managed Care $3,625.97 ↓ -33%
Primewest Medicaid Managed Care $3,625.97 ↓ -33%
United Healthcare Medicare Replacement $3,634.93 ↓ -33%
Aetna Medicare Replacement $3,634.93 ↓ -33%
Great Plains Medicare Advantage Medicare Replacement $3,634.93 ↓ -33%
Health Partners Medicare Replacement $3,634.93 ↓ -33%
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota Medicare Replacement $3,634.93 ↓ -33%
Primewest Medicare Replacement $3,705.51 ↓ -31%
Security Health Plan Commercial $3,713.60 ↓ -31%
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota State Employees $4,249.45 ↓ -21%
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota Commercial $4,351.41 ↓ -19%
United Healthcare CSP Top 20 $4,544.10 ↓ -16%
Medica Choice $4,550.85 ↓ -16%
Ucare Commercial $4,745.98 ↓ -12%
Medica Elect $4,868.19 ↓ -10%
Aetna Commercial $5,165.28 ↓ -4%
United Healthcare Commercial $5,948.51 ↑ +10%
Multiplan Commercial $6,076.80 ↑ +13%
Healthez Commercial $6,076.80 ↑ +13%
First Choice Health Network Commercial $6,076.80 ↑ +13%
Wellmark HMO/PPO not published by hospital —

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Conversion ext bil drg cath at other South-dakota hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Sanford Aberdeen Medical Center Aberdeen not published $3,352.61 – $3,705.51

All South-dakota hospitals for this procedure →