Eye Socket, Pituitary or Ear CT Scan (with contrast) at Sanford Vermillion Hospital

20 S Plum St, Vermillion, SD · Sanford Health · · NPI 1790721280

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

$2,342.40

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.

$2,928.00

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.

$863.76 with Sanford Health Plan Align vs $2,635.20 with First Choice Health Network — 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 $863.76 ↓ -63%
Wellmark SD Medicare Replacement $890.11 ↓ -62%
Ucare Medicare Replacement $954.53 ↓ -59%
Health Partners Medicare Replacement $966.24 ↓ -59%
Great Plains Medicare Advantage Medicare Replacement $966.24 ↓ -59%
Aetna Medicare Replacement $966.24 ↓ -59%
United Healthcare Medicare Replacement $966.24 ↓ -59%
Primewest Medicare Replacement $983.81 ↓ -58%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange True $1,159.20 ↓ -51%
Sanford Health Plan Group Health/True $1,321.70 ↓ -44%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange Commercial $1,363.86 ↓ -42%
Sanford Health Plan Commercial/ND Pers $1,555.06 ↓ -34%
Security Health Plan Commercial $1,610.40 ↓ -31%
Health Partners State Employees $1,932.48 ↓ -18%
Health Partners Commercial $2,196.00 ↓ -6%
Medica Choice $2,415.60 ↑ +3%
United Healthcare Commercial +20 $2,444.88 ↑ +4%
Wellmark PPO $2,518.08 ↑ +8%
Aetna Commercial $2,544.43 ↑ +9%
Ucare Commercial $2,572.54 ↑ +10%
Medica Elect $2,582.50 ↑ +10%
Healthez Commercial $2,635.20 ↑ +13%
Multiplan Commercial $2,635.20 ↑ +13%
First Choice Health Network Commercial $2,635.20 ↑ +13%

Visitor-reported prices

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Eye Socket, Pituitary or Ear CT Scan (with contrast) at other South-dakota hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Sanford Clear Lake Medical Center Clear Lake $2,409.60 $893.20 – $2,710.80
Sanford USD Medical Center Sioux Falls $2,951.20 $81.44 – $3,320.10
Sanford Hospital Webster Webster $2,625.60 $1,030.55 – $2,953.80
Sanford Chamberlain Medical Center Chamberlain $2,397.60 $1,024.97 – $2,697.30
Sanford Canton Inwood Medical Center Canton $2,138.40 $914.17 – $2,405.70
Sanford Aberdeen Medical Center Aberdeen $2,436.00 $169.12 – $2,740.50

All South-dakota hospitals for this procedure →