Immunofixation electrophoresis serum 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

$115.06

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.

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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$272.00

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.

$19.85 with United vs $190.40 with Aetna — 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
United Medicaid|TennCare $19.85 ↓ -83%
United Commercial|Non-Options $22.34 ↓ -81%
United Commercial|Options $22.34 ↓ -81%
BCBS - ND Medicare|All Plans $23.23 ↓ -80%
Cigna Medicare|Healthspring $23.46 ↓ -80%
Humana Medicare|HMO $23.68 ↓ -79%
Amerigroup Medicare|All Plans $23.90 ↓ -79%
Humana Medicare|All Other Plans $24.57 ↓ -79%
Humana Medicare|PPO $24.57 ↓ -79%
Amerigroup Medicaid|All Plans $28.09 ↓ -76%
Employers Health Network Commercial|All Plans $33.51 ↓ -71%
Centene Commercial|Ambetter Exchange $42.00 ↓ -63%
Cigna Commercial|LocalPlus $49.14 ↓ -57%
BCBS - TN Commercial|Network S $53.64 ↓ -53%
Cigna Commercial|Open Access $54.73 ↓ -52%
Peach State Medicaid|All Plans $57.12 ↓ -50%
BCBS - TN Medicaid|BlueCare $65.28 ↓ -43%
BCBS - TN Commercial|Network P $67.67 ↓ -41%
Aetna Commercial|Non-Gatekeeper $190.40 ↑ +65%
Aetna Commercial|Gatekeeper $190.40 ↑ +65%

Visitor-reported prices

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Immunofixation electrophoresis serum at other Tennessee hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Ascension Saint Thomas Midtown Nashville $18.81 $8.04 – $86.93
CHI Memorial Hospital Hixson Hixson $80.52 $19.85 – $190.40
Ascension Saint Thomas DeKalb Smithville $18.81 $15.66 – $86.93
Ascension Saint Thomas Highlands Sparta $18.81 $15.66 – $86.93
Ascension Saint Thomas River Park McMinnville $18.81 $15.66 – $86.93
Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford Murfreesboro $18.81 $8.43 – $86.93
Ascension Saint Thomas Hickman Centerville not published $20.11 – $86.93

All Tennessee hospitals for this procedure →