X-ray thoracolumbar spine including skull cervical & sacral spine 1 view 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

$319.20

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.

$399.00

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.

$117.71 with Sanford Health Plan Align vs $359.10 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 $117.71 ↓ -63%
Wellmark SD Medicare Replacement $121.30 ↓ -62%
Ucare Medicare Replacement $130.07 ↓ -59%
Health Partners Medicare Replacement $131.67 ↓ -59%
Great Plains Medicare Advantage Medicare Replacement $131.67 ↓ -59%
Aetna Medicare Replacement $131.67 ↓ -59%
United Healthcare Medicare Replacement $131.67 ↓ -59%
Primewest Medicare Replacement $134.06 ↓ -58%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange True $157.96 ↓ -51%
Sanford Health Plan Group Health/True $180.11 ↓ -44%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange Commercial $185.85 ↓ -42%
Sanford Health Plan Commercial/ND Pers $211.91 ↓ -34%
Security Health Plan Commercial $219.45 ↓ -31%
Health Partners State Employees $263.34 ↓ -18%
Health Partners Commercial $299.25 ↓ -6%
Medica Choice $329.18 ↑ +3%
United Healthcare Commercial +20 $333.17 ↑ +4%
Wellmark PPO $343.14 ↑ +8%
Aetna Commercial $346.73 ↑ +9%
Ucare Commercial $350.56 ↑ +10%
Medica Elect $351.92 ↑ +10%
Healthez Commercial $359.10 ↑ +13%
Multiplan Commercial $359.10 ↑ +13%
First Choice Health Network Commercial $359.10 ↑ +13%

Visitor-reported prices

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X-ray thoracolumbar spine including skull cervical & sacral spine 1 view at other South-dakota hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Sanford Clear Lake Medical Center Clear Lake $428.80 $274.97 – $482.40
Sanford USD Medical Center Sioux Falls $557.60 $40.28 – $627.30
Sanford Chamberlain Medical Center Chamberlain $389.60 $166.55 – $438.30
Sanford Aberdeen Medical Center Aberdeen $390.40 $83.65 – $439.20

All South-dakota hospitals for this procedure →