Red blood cells washed each unit at Ascension Saint Thomas Highlands
401 Sewell Dr, Sparta, TN · Ascension · · NPI 1922487966
$455.57
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.
?
What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
$1,518.55
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.
?
The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$88.45 with BCBS BLUE CARE (REGIONALS ONLY) vs $665.64 with BCBS ACA EXCHANGE — 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 →
?
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 BLUE CARE (REGIONALS ONLY) | 2429_BCBS BLUE CARE (HIGHLAND) 20221001 | $88.45 | ↓ -81% |
| BCBS TENNCARE SELECT | 2425_BCBS TENNCARE SELECT (HIGHLAND) 20221001 | $132.68 | ↓ -71% |
| COMMUNITY PLAN | 2496_THTN MEDICAID REPLACEMENT UNITED HEALTH CARE COMMUNITY PLAN 20191001 | $143.54 | ↓ -68% |
| BCBS NETWORK E | 3149_BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD NETWORK E REGIONAL 20250401 | $532.51 | ↑ +17% |
| BCBS NETWORK L | 3150_BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD NETWORK L REGIONAL 20250401 | $578.82 | ↑ +27% |
| BCBS SELECT | 3182_BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD SELECT REGIONAL 20250701 | $578.82 | ↑ +27% |
| BCBS MISSIONPOINT | 2422_BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD MISSIONPOINT REGIONAL 20221001 | $610.66 | ↑ +34% |
| BCBS PREFERRED | 3181_BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD PREFERRED REGIONAL 20250701 | $625.13 | ↑ +37% |
| BCBS ACA EXCHANGE | 3147_STTN BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD NETWORK E 20241231 | $665.64 | ↑ +46% |
| BCBS ACA EXCHANGE | 3146_MTTN BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD NETWORK E 20241231 | $665.64 | ↑ +46% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Red blood cells washed each unit at other Tennessee hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ascension Saint Thomas DeKalb | Smithville | $455.57 | $88.45 – $665.64 |
| Ascension Saint Thomas River Park | McMinnville | $455.57 | $132.15 – $665.64 |
| Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford | Murfreesboro | $455.57 | $88.45 – $665.64 |