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Knee X-ray 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

$336.80

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.

$421.00

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.

$124.20 with Sanford Health Plan Align vs $378.90 with Multiplan — 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 $124.20 ↓ -63%
Wellmark SD Medicare Replacement $127.98 ↓ -62%
Ucare Medicare Replacement $137.25 ↓ -59%
Aetna Medicare Replacement $138.93 ↓ -59%
Great Plains Medicare Advantage Medicare Replacement $138.93 ↓ -59%
Health Partners Medicare Replacement $138.93 ↓ -59%
United Healthcare Medicare Replacement $138.93 ↓ -59%
Primewest Medicare Replacement $141.46 ↓ -58%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange True $166.67 ↓ -51%
Sanford Health Plan Group Health/True $190.04 ↓ -44%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange Commercial $196.10 ↓ -42%
Sanford Health Plan Commercial/ND Pers $223.59 ↓ -34%
Security Health Plan Commercial $231.55 ↓ -31%
Health Partners State Employees $277.86 ↓ -18%
Health Partners Commercial $315.75 ↓ -6%
Medica Choice $347.33 ↑ +3%
United Healthcare Commercial +20 $351.54 ↑ +4%
Wellmark PPO $362.06 ↑ +8%
Aetna Commercial $365.85 ↑ +9%
Ucare Commercial $369.89 ↑ +10%
Medica Elect $371.32 ↑ +10%
First Choice Health Network Commercial $378.90 ↑ +13%
Healthez Commercial $378.90 ↑ +13%
Multiplan Commercial $378.90 ↑ +13%

Visitor-reported prices

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Knee X-ray at other South-dakota hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Sanford Clear Lake Medical Center Clear Lake $533.60 $342.17 – $600.30
Sanford USD Medical Center Sioux Falls $604.00 $47.27 – $679.50
Sanford Hospital Webster Webster $477.60 $187.46 – $537.30
Sanford Chamberlain Medical Center Chamberlain $485.60 $207.59 – $546.30
Sanford Canton Inwood Medical Center Canton $384.00 $164.16 – $432.00
Sanford Aberdeen Medical Center Aberdeen $435.20 $101.02 – $489.60

All South-dakota hospitals for this procedure →