Surgical pathology level 3 gross & microscopic examination at NORTHCREST MEDICAL CENTER

100 NORTHCREST DRIVE, SPRINGFIELD, TN · Tristarhealth · · NPI 1093397184

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Mar 1, 2026 · Ingested Sep 16, 2026

$499.75

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.

$499.75

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.

$28.50 with BCBS vs $409.80 with Multiplan — 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 NetworkP $28.50 ↓ -94%
Aetna NewBusiness $30.38 ↓ -94%
Aetna COMM $30.38 ↓ -94%
Humana NarrowExchangeNetwork $43.48 ↓ -91%
Humana HumanaChoice $43.48 ↓ -91%
Humana BroadNetwork $43.48 ↓ -91%
Humana HumanaChoiceCare $43.48 ↓ -91%
Molina MCD $43.71 ↓ -91%
United CorePayer $49.76 ↓ -90%
United AllPayerAppendix $49.76 ↓ -90%
United HeritageSelect $49.76 ↓ -90%
Cigna NewBusiness $54.57 ↓ -89%
Cigna OAP $61.97 ↓ -88%
Bright Health HIX $74.96 ↓ -85%
Oscar HIX $78.46 ↓ -84%
NHC Advantage, Inc. MCRHMO $94.95 ↓ -81%
Ambetter CORE $96.45 ↓ -81%
Ambetter Select $99.95 ↓ -80%
Bright Health SmallGroup $104.95 ↓ -79%
United OptionsPPO $110.44 ↓ -78%
Cigna PPO $146.43 ↓ -71%
United GlobalBenefitPlan $224.89 ↓ -55%
Aetna NAP $249.88 ↓ -50%
City of Springfield COMM $324.84 ↓ -35%
Multiplan ComplementaryNetwork $389.81 ↓ -22%
Multiplan PrimaryNetwork $409.80 ↓ -18%

Visitor-reported prices

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Surgical pathology level 3 gross & microscopic examination at other Tennessee hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Ascension Saint Thomas Midtown Nashville $104.06 $9.57 – $92.08
CHI Memorial Hospital Hixson Hixson $173.76 $14.24 – $410.90
62-1166050 BMH Carroll County Huntingdon $31.97 $9.57 – $97.58
CHI Memorial Hospital Chattanooga Chattanooga $248.31 $14.24 – $410.90
Johnson City Medical Center JOHNSON CITY $45.15 $16.17 – $106.01
Ascension Saint Thomas DeKalb Smithville $104.06 $9.57 – $92.08
Ascension Saint Thomas Highlands Sparta $104.06 $9.57 – $92.08
Ascension Saint Thomas River Park McMinnville $104.06 $14.30 – $92.08

All Tennessee hospitals for this procedure →