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Upper Back (Thoracic Spine) MRI (with contrast) at Sanford Hospital Webster

1401 W 1st St, Webster, SD · Sanford Health · · NPI 1831103449

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Mar 4, 2026 · Ingested Aug 12, 2026

$3,603.20

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.

$4,504.00

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.

$1,414.26 with Sanford Health Plan Align vs $4,053.60 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 $1,414.26 ↓ -61%
Ucare Medicare Replacement $1,517.85 ↓ -58%
Wellmark SD Medicare Replacement $1,517.85 ↓ -58%
Aetna Medicare Replacement $1,531.36 ↓ -58%
Great Plains Medicare Advantage Medicare Replacement $1,531.36 ↓ -58%
Health Partners Medicare Replacement $1,531.36 ↓ -58%
United Healthcare Medicare Replacement $1,531.36 ↓ -58%
Primewest Medicare Replacement $1,560.64 ↓ -57%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange True $2,467.74 ↓ -32%
Security Health Plan Commercial $2,477.20 ↓ -31%
Sanford Health Plan Group Health/True $2,814.10 ↓ -22%
Sanford Health Plan SD Exchange Commercial $2,903.28 ↓ -19%
Health Partners State Employees $2,972.64 ↓ -18%
Sanford Health Plan Commercial/ND Pers $3,310.44 ↓ -8%
Health Partners Commercial $3,378.00 ↓ -6%
Medica Choice $3,715.80 ↑ +3%
United Healthcare Commercial + Top 20 $3,760.84 ↑ +4%
Wellmark PPO $3,873.44 ↑ +8%
Aetna Commercial $3,913.98 ↑ +9%
Ucare Commercial $3,957.21 ↑ +10%
Medica Elect $3,972.53 ↑ +10%
First Choice Health Network Commercial $4,053.60 ↑ +13%
Healthez Commercial $4,053.60 ↑ +13%
Multiplan Commercial $4,053.60 ↑ +13%

Visitor-reported prices

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Upper Back (Thoracic Spine) MRI (with contrast) at other South-dakota hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Sanford Clear Lake Medical Center Clear Lake $3,414.40 $1,215.50 – $3,841.20
Sanford USD Medical Center Sioux Falls $3,152.80 $170.46 – $3,546.90
Sanford Chamberlain Medical Center Chamberlain $3,240.00 $1,385.10 – $3,645.00
Sanford Vermillion Hospital Vermillion $3,048.80 $1,124.25 – $3,429.90
Sanford Aberdeen Medical Center Aberdeen $3,348.00 $339.27 – $3,766.50

All South-dakota hospitals for this procedure →