Parathyroid planar imaging 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

$414.54

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.

$980.00

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.

$76.38 with BCBS - TN vs $828.29 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
BCBS - TN Medicaid|BlueCare $76.38 ↓ -82%
United Medicaid|TennCare $184.08 ↓ -56%
Peach State Medicaid|All Plans $205.80 ↓ -50%
BCBS - ND Medicare|All Plans $374.35 ↓ -10%
Cigna Medicare|Healthspring $377.95 ↓ -9%
Humana Medicare|HMO $381.55 ↓ -8%
Amerigroup Medicare|All Plans $385.15 ↓ -7%
Humana Medicare|All Other Plans $395.94 ↓ -4%
Humana Medicare|PPO $395.94 ↓ -4%
Employers Health Network Commercial|All Plans $414.56 ↑ +0%
BCBS - TN Commercial|Network S $417.12 ↑ +1%
Cigna Commercial|LocalPlus $524.06 ↑ +26%
BCBS - TN Commercial|Network P $526.14 ↑ +27%
Cigna Commercial|Open Access $583.61 ↑ +41%
Centene Commercial|Ambetter Exchange $676.71 ↑ +63%
Aetna Commercial|Gatekeeper $686.00 ↑ +65%
Aetna Commercial|Non-Gatekeeper $686.00 ↑ +65%
United Commercial|Non-Options $828.29 ↑ +100%
United Commercial|Options $828.29 ↑ +100%

Visitor-reported prices

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Parathyroid planar imaging at other Tennessee hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Ascension Saint Thomas Midtown Nashville $539.24 $51.32 – $719.70
CHI Memorial Hospital Hixson Hixson $290.08 $76.38 – $686.00
Ascension Saint Thomas DeKalb Smithville $579.72 $51.32 – $719.70
Ascension Saint Thomas Highlands Sparta $579.72 $51.32 – $719.70
Ascension Saint Thomas River Park McMinnville $579.72 $76.68 – $719.70
Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford Murfreesboro $538.83 $51.32 – $719.70
Ascension Saint Thomas Hickman Centerville not published $279.66 – $719.70

All Tennessee hospitals for this procedure →