Autologous blood process at CHI Memorial Hospital Chattanooga

2525 de Sales Avenue, Chattanooga, TN · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1255428736

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Feb 28, 2026 · Ingested Sep 10, 2026

$131.13

Cash price

?

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.

$310.00

Gross charge

?

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.

$27.24 with BCBS - TN vs $288.58 with Centene — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
?

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
?

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
?

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
BCBS - TN Medicaid|BlueCare $27.24 ↓ -79%
Peach State Medicaid|All Plans $65.10 ↓ -50%
United Medicaid|TennCare $81.67 ↓ -38%
BCBS - TN Commercial|Network S $110.40 ↓ -16%
BCBS - TN Commercial|Network P $139.26 ↑ +6%
United Commercial|Options $143.50 ↑ +9%
United Commercial|Non-Options $143.50 ↑ +9%
BCBS - ND Medicare|All Plans $159.64 ↑ +22%
Cigna Medicare|Healthspring $161.18 ↑ +23%
Humana Medicare|HMO $162.71 ↑ +24%
Amerigroup Medicare|All Plans $164.25 ↑ +25%
Humana Medicare|All Other Plans $168.85 ↑ +29%
Humana Medicare|PPO $168.85 ↑ +29%
Cigna Commercial|LocalPlus $203.69 ↑ +55%
Aetna Commercial|Non-Gatekeeper $217.00 ↑ +65%
Aetna Commercial|Gatekeeper $217.00 ↑ +65%
Cigna Commercial|Open Access $226.83 ↑ +73%
Centene Commercial|Ambetter Exchange $288.58 ↑ +120%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Autologous blood process at other Tennessee hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
CHI Memorial Hospital Hixson Hixson $91.76 $27.24 – $217.00
Ascension Saint Thomas DeKalb Smithville $394.55 $18.30 – $329.59
Ascension Saint Thomas Highlands Sparta $394.55 $18.30 – $329.59
Ascension Saint Thomas River Park McMinnville $394.55 $23.30 – $329.59
Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford Murfreesboro $394.55 $18.30 – $329.59
Ascension Saint Thomas Midtown Nashville not published $18.30 – $329.59
Ascension Saint Thomas Hickman Centerville not published $94.10 – $329.59

All Tennessee hospitals for this procedure →