MRI chest without & w/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

$3,959.20

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.

$4,949.00

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.

$1,459.96 with Sanford Health Plan Align vs $4,454.10 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 $1,459.96 ↓ -63%
Wellmark SD Medicare Replacement $1,504.50 ↓ -62%
Ucare Medicare Replacement $1,613.37 ↓ -59%
Health Partners Medicare Replacement $1,633.17 ↓ -59%
Great Plains Medicare Advantage Medicare Replacement $1,633.17 ↓ -59%
Aetna Medicare Replacement $1,633.17 ↓ -59%
United Healthcare Medicare Replacement $1,633.17 ↓ -59%
Primewest Medicare Replacement $1,662.86 ↓ -58%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange True $1,959.31 ↓ -51%
Sanford Health Plan Group Health/True $2,233.98 ↓ -44%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange Commercial $2,305.24 ↓ -42%
Sanford Health Plan Commercial/ND Pers $2,628.41 ↓ -34%
Security Health Plan Commercial $2,721.95 ↓ -31%
Health Partners State Employees $3,266.34 ↓ -18%
Health Partners Commercial $3,711.75 ↓ -6%
Medica Choice $4,082.93 ↑ +3%
United Healthcare Commercial +20 $4,132.42 ↑ +4%
Wellmark PPO $4,256.14 ↑ +8%
Aetna Commercial $4,300.68 ↑ +9%
Ucare Commercial $4,348.19 ↑ +10%
Medica Elect $4,365.02 ↑ +10%
Healthez Commercial $4,454.10 ↑ +13%
Multiplan Commercial $4,454.10 ↑ +13%
First Choice Health Network Commercial $4,454.10 ↑ +13%

Visitor-reported prices

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MRI chest without & w/contrast at other South-dakota hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Sanford Clear Lake Medical Center Clear Lake $4,185.60 $1,215.50 – $4,708.80
Sanford USD Medical Center Sioux Falls $4,724.00 $170.46 – $5,314.50
Sanford Hospital Webster Webster $4,276.80 $1,678.64 – $4,811.40
Sanford Chamberlain Medical Center Chamberlain $3,997.60 $1,708.97 – $4,497.30
Sanford Canton Inwood Medical Center Canton $3,756.00 $1,605.69 – $4,225.50
Sanford Aberdeen Medical Center Aberdeen $3,868.00 $339.27 – $4,351.50

All South-dakota hospitals for this procedure →