Observation per hour at St. Joseph Health College Station Hospital

1604 Rock Prairie Road, College Station, TX · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1942294939

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Feb 28, 2026 · Ingested Sep 10, 2026

$52.85

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.

$302.00

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.

$24.16 with SUPERIOR vs $7,367.00 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
SUPERIOR Medicaid|CHIP $24.16 ↓ -54%
UNITED Medicaid|STARKIDS $24.65 ↓ -53%
UNITED Medicaid|All Other Plans $24.65 ↓ -53%
SUPERIOR Medicaid|All Other Plans $25.37 ↓ -52%
Wellpoint Medicaid|All Other Plans $25.37 ↓ -52%
BCBS Medicaid|STARKIDS $25.37 ↓ -52%
Wellpoint Medicaid|STAR $45.43 ↓ -14%
SUPERIOR Medicaid|STAR $45.43 ↓ -14%
SUPERIOR Medicaid|STARPLUS $53.40 ↑ +1%
UNITED Medicaid|STARPLUS $54.36 ↑ +3%
Health Smart Commercial|All Plans $166.10 ↑ +214%
Aetna Commercial|All Plans $169.12 ↑ +220%
Humana Commercial|All Plans $184.22 ↑ +249%
BCBS-TX Commercial|Blue Advantage HMO $253.17 ↑ +379%
Multiplan Commercial|All Plans $256.70 ↑ +386%
BCBS-TX Commercial|Blue Premier $297.69 ↑ +463%
BCBS-TX Commercial|Ref Lab $302.00 ↑ +471%
BCBS-TX Commercial|PPO $302.00 ↑ +471%
BCBS-TX Commercial|HMO $302.00 ↑ +471%
Cigna Commercial|Local Plus $2,731.00 ↑ +5067%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $3,728.00 ↑ +6954%
United Commercial|Exchange $3,754.00 ↑ +7003%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $7,367.00 ↑ +13839%

Visitor-reported prices

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Observation per hour at other Texas hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Adventhealth Rollins Brook Lampasas $644.35 $489.80 – $489.80
St. Luke's Health - Patients Medical Center Pasadena $155.40 $4.39 – $90.00
Baylor St Luke's Medical Center Houston $21.70 $6.82 – $90.90
St. Joseph Health Madison Hospital Madisonville $52.85 $38.48 – $271.80
St. Luke's Health Memorial Lufkin Lufkin $34.54 $19.65 – $131.00
St. Luke's Health - Springwoods Village Hospital Spring $21.70 $6.20 – $90.90
St. Luke's Health - Sugar Land Hospital Sugar Land $21.70 $4.96 – $90.90
St. Luke's Health - Lakeside Hospital The Woodlands $21.70 $4.96 – $90.90

All Texas hospitals for this procedure →