Biopsy muscle percutaneous needle 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

$1,105.73

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.

$2,614.00

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.

$0.65 with Alliant Health vs $3,462.00 with United — 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
Alliant Health Commercial|All Plans $0.65 ↓ -100%
BCBS - TN Commercial|Network S $167.00 ↓ -85%
BCBS - TN Commercial|Network P $217.00 ↓ -80%
Amerigroup Medicaid|All Plans $334.00 ↓ -70%
Peach State Medicaid|All Plans $548.94 ↓ -50%
BCBS - TN Medicaid|BlueCare $737.14 ↓ -33%
United Medicaid|TennCare $1,024.00 ↓ -7%
Cigna Commercial|LocalPlus $1,331.00 ↑ +20%
Employers Health Network Commercial|All Plans $1,338.86 ↑ +21%
BCBS - ND Medicare|All Plans $1,509.44 ↑ +37%
Cigna Medicare|Healthspring $1,523.95 ↑ +38%
Humana Medicare|HMO $1,538.46 ↑ +39%
Amerigroup Medicare|All Plans $1,552.98 ↑ +40%
Humana Medicare|All Other Plans $1,596.52 ↑ +44%
Humana Medicare|PPO $1,596.52 ↑ +44%
Cigna Commercial|Open Access $1,638.00 ↑ +48%
Humana Commercial|All Plans $1,643.00 ↑ +49%
Health One Alliance Commercial|All Plans $1,753.00 ↑ +59%
Aetna Commercial|Gatekeeper $1,829.80 ↑ +65%
Aetna Commercial|Non-Gatekeeper $1,829.80 ↑ +65%
Multiplan Commercial|All Plans $1,836.63 ↑ +66%
Centene Commercial|Ambetter Exchange $2,728.59 ↑ +147%
United Commercial|Non-Options $3,462.00 ↑ +213%
United Commercial|Options $3,462.00 ↑ +213%

Visitor-reported prices

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Biopsy muscle percutaneous needle at other Tennessee hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Ascension Saint Thomas Midtown Nashville $1,480.32 $733.50 – $1,141.72
CHI Memorial Hospital Hixson Hixson $773.75 $522.80 – $1,829.80
Ascension Saint Thomas DeKalb Smithville $1,480.32 $526.32 – $1,004.50
Ascension Saint Thomas Highlands Sparta $1,480.32 $526.32 – $1,004.50
Ascension Saint Thomas River Park McMinnville $1,480.32 $526.32 – $1,004.50
Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford Murfreesboro $1,480.32 $954.50 – $1,217.22
Ascension Saint Thomas Hickman Centerville not published $954.50 – $1,004.50

All Tennessee hospitals for this procedure →