healthcosts.net

Kidney (Retroperitoneal) Ultrasound (complete) 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

$778.40

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.

$973.00

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.

$287.04 with Sanford Health Plan Align vs $875.70 with Multiplan — 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 $287.04 ↓ -63%
Wellmark SD Medicare Replacement $295.79 ↓ -62%
Ucare Medicare Replacement $317.20 ↓ -59%
Aetna Medicare Replacement $321.09 ↓ -59%
Great Plains Medicare Advantage Medicare Replacement $321.09 ↓ -59%
Health Partners Medicare Replacement $321.09 ↓ -59%
United Healthcare Medicare Replacement $321.09 ↓ -59%
Primewest Medicare Replacement $326.93 ↓ -58%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange True $385.21 ↓ -51%
Sanford Health Plan Group Health/True $439.21 ↓ -44%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange Commercial $453.22 ↓ -42%
Sanford Health Plan Commercial/ND Pers $516.76 ↓ -34%
Security Health Plan Commercial $535.15 ↓ -31%
Health Partners State Employees $642.18 ↓ -18%
Health Partners Commercial $729.75 ↓ -6%
Medica Choice $802.73 ↑ +3%
United Healthcare Commercial +20 $812.46 ↑ +4%
Wellmark PPO $836.78 ↑ +8%
Aetna Commercial $845.54 ↑ +9%
Ucare Commercial $854.88 ↑ +10%
Medica Elect $858.19 ↑ +10%
First Choice Health Network Commercial $875.70 ↑ +13%
Healthez Commercial $875.70 ↑ +13%
Multiplan Commercial $875.70 ↑ +13%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Kidney (Retroperitoneal) Ultrasound (complete) at other South-dakota hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Sanford Clear Lake Medical Center Clear Lake $921.60 $590.98 – $1,036.80
Sanford USD Medical Center Sioux Falls $1,036.00 $48.73 – $1,165.50
Sanford Hospital Webster Webster $830.40 $325.93 – $934.20
Sanford Chamberlain Medical Center Chamberlain $934.40 $399.46 – $1,051.20
Sanford Canton Inwood Medical Center Canton $778.40 $332.77 – $875.70
Sanford Aberdeen Medical Center Aberdeen $854.40 $101.02 – $961.20

All South-dakota hospitals for this procedure →