MRI upper extremity other than joint without contrast (both sides) 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

$3,068.80

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.

$3,836.00

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.

$1,131.62 with Sanford Health Plan Align vs $3,452.40 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 $1,131.62 ↓ -63%
Wellmark SD Medicare Replacement $1,166.14 ↓ -62%
Ucare Medicare Replacement $1,250.54 ↓ -59%
Health Partners Medicare Replacement $1,265.88 ↓ -59%
Great Plains Medicare Advantage Medicare Replacement $1,265.88 ↓ -59%
Aetna Medicare Replacement $1,265.88 ↓ -59%
United Healthcare Medicare Replacement $1,265.88 ↓ -59%
Primewest Medicare Replacement $1,288.90 ↓ -58%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange True $1,518.67 ↓ -51%
Sanford Health Plan Group Health/True $1,731.57 ↓ -44%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange Commercial $1,786.81 ↓ -42%
Sanford Health Plan Commercial/ND Pers $2,037.30 ↓ -34%
Security Health Plan Commercial $2,109.80 ↓ -31%
Health Partners State Employees $2,531.76 ↓ -18%
Health Partners Commercial $2,877.00 ↓ -6%
Medica Choice $3,164.70 ↑ +3%
United Healthcare Commercial +20 $3,203.06 ↑ +4%
Wellmark PPO $3,298.96 ↑ +8%
Aetna Commercial $3,333.48 ↑ +9%
Ucare Commercial $3,370.31 ↑ +10%
Medica Elect $3,383.35 ↑ +10%
Healthez Commercial $3,452.40 ↑ +13%
Multiplan Commercial $3,452.40 ↑ +13%
First Choice Health Network Commercial $3,452.40 ↑ +13%

Visitor-reported prices

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MRI upper extremity other than joint without contrast (both sides) at other South-dakota hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Sanford Clear Lake Medical Center Clear Lake $2,829.60 $1,156.10 – $3,183.30
Sanford USD Medical Center Sioux Falls $3,146.40 $108.61 – $3,539.70
Sanford Hospital Webster Webster $2,815.20 $1,104.97 – $3,167.10
Sanford Chamberlain Medical Center Chamberlain $3,079.20 $1,316.36 – $3,464.10
Sanford Canton Inwood Medical Center Canton $2,580.00 $1,102.95 – $2,902.50
Sanford Aberdeen Medical Center Aberdeen $2,579.20 $229.63 – $2,901.60

All South-dakota hospitals for this procedure →