Urine Culture Test 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

$19.04

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.

$45.00

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.

$7.18 with United vs $31.50 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 $7.18 ↓ -62%
United Commercial|Non-Options $8.07 ↓ -58%
United Commercial|Options $8.07 ↓ -58%
BCBS - ND Medicare|All Plans $8.39 ↓ -56%
Cigna Medicare|Healthspring $8.47 ↓ -56%
Humana Medicare|HMO $8.55 ↓ -55%
Amerigroup Medicare|All Plans $8.63 ↓ -55%
Humana Medicare|All Other Plans $8.88 ↓ -53%
Humana Medicare|PPO $8.88 ↓ -53%
Peach State Medicaid|All Plans $9.45 ↓ -50%
Amerigroup Medicaid|All Plans $10.15 ↓ -47%
Employers Health Network Commercial|All Plans $12.11 ↓ -36%
Centene Commercial|Ambetter Exchange $15.17 ↓ -20%
Cigna Commercial|LocalPlus $17.80 ↓ -7%
BCBS - TN Commercial|Network S $19.38 ↑ +2%
Cigna Commercial|Open Access $19.83 ↑ +4%
BCBS - TN Medicaid|BlueCare $22.53 ↑ +18%
BCBS - TN Commercial|Network P $24.44 ↑ +28%
Aetna Commercial|Non-Gatekeeper $31.50 ↑ +65%
Aetna Commercial|Gatekeeper $31.50 ↑ +65%

Visitor-reported prices

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Urine Culture Test at other Tennessee hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Ascension Saint Thomas Midtown Nashville $36.56 $2.91 – $31.60
CHI Memorial Hospital Hixson Hixson $13.32 $7.18 – $31.50
Ascension Saint Thomas DeKalb Smithville $36.56 $5.66 – $31.60
Ascension Saint Thomas Highlands Sparta $36.56 $5.66 – $31.60
Ascension Saint Thomas River Park McMinnville $36.56 $5.66 – $31.60
Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford Murfreesboro $36.56 $7.26 – $31.60
Ascension Saint Thomas Hickman Centerville not published $7.26 – $31.60

All Tennessee hospitals for this procedure →