Fern test at HCA HOUSTON CLEAR LAKE
225 E PARKWOOD AVE, FRIENDSWOOD, TX · HCA Houston Healthcare · · NPI 1063466035
not published by hospital
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.
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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
not published by hospital
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.
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The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$9.55 with Oscar vs $618.98 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 →
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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 ?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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oscar | MGMCR | $9.55 | — |
| BCBS | MCRPPO | $9.74 | — |
| BCBS | MedicareAdvantageHMO | $9.74 | — |
| Kelsey Seybold | MGMCR | $9.74 | — |
| Humana | MedicareAdvantageHMO | $9.74 | — |
| CHC Harris Health | Indigent | $9.74 | — |
| Humana | MedicareAdvantagePPOPFFS | $9.74 | — |
| Cigna HealthSpring | PFFS | $9.74 | — |
| Cigna HealthSpring | MMP | $9.74 | — |
| TriWest Healthcare Alliance | Veterans | $9.74 | — |
| Devoted Health | MGMCR | $9.74 | — |
| Cigna HealthSpring | MCRPPO | $9.74 | — |
| Cigna HealthSpring | MCRSNP | $9.74 | — |
| Cigna HealthSpring | MCRHMO | $9.74 | — |
| United | AllPayerAppendix | $9.74 | — |
| Renaissance IPA Radiology | MCR | $9.74 | — |
| Renaissance IPA Radiology | COMM | $9.74 | — |
| United | SmallGroup | $9.74 | — |
| United | NarrowNetworkIndivExchange | $9.74 | — |
| Amerigroup | DualEligible | $9.74 | — |
| WellMed | MGMCR | $9.79 | — |
| Aetna | MCR | $9.82 | — |
| Van Lang IPA | MCR | $9.84 | — |
| United | MCR | $9.93 | — |
| WellCare | MCRHMO | $10.03 | — |
| WellCare | PPO | $10.03 | — |
| WellCare | SNP | $10.03 | — |
| WellCare | POS | $10.03 | — |
| WellCare | PFFS | $10.03 | — |
| Integranet Amerigroup IPA | MCR | $10.03 | — |
| Shared Health | MGMCR | $10.23 | — |
| American Health Plan | MGMCR | $10.23 | — |
| Superior Health Plan | DualEligible | $10.23 | — |
| Superior Health Plan | MCRHMO | $10.23 | — |
| Superior Health Plan | MCRPOS | $10.23 | — |
| Superior Health Plan | MCRPPO | $10.23 | — |
| Superior Health Plan | MCRSNP | $10.23 | — |
| Superior Health Plan | PFFS | $10.23 | — |
| ProCare Advantage | MGMCR | $10.23 | — |
| Provider Partners Health Plan of Texas | POS | $10.32 | — |
| Provider Partners Health Plan of Texas | PFFS | $10.32 | — |
| Provider Partners Health Plan of Texas | PPO | $10.32 | — |
| Provider Partners Health Plan of Texas | SNP | $10.32 | — |
| Provider Partners Health Plan of Texas | MCRHMO | $10.32 | — |
| Christus (USFHP) | TRICARE | $10.54 | — |
| TriWest Health Alliance | TRCR | $10.54 | — |
| Molina | MGMCR | $10.62 | — |
| Kindred Hospital | MGMCR | $11.20 | — |
| Universal Healthcare Group | MCR | $11.69 | — |
| Verda Health Plan | MCR | $12.66 | — |
| Community Health Choice | HIX | $14.12 | — |
| Superior | ValueHMO | $14.12 | — |
| Superior | EPO | $15.10 | — |
| Superior | HMO | $15.10 | — |
| UTMB | MGMCR | $15.88 | — |
| Corvel Corporation | WORKERSCOMP | $19.29 | — |
| BCBS | MyBlueHealth | $19.67 | — |
| OMNI Healthcare | WORKERSCOMP | $20.45 | — |
| Molina Healthcare | HIX | $20.94 | — |
| BCBS | BAV | $21.72 | — |
| Healthcare Highways | NarrowNetwork | $23.67 | — |
| BCBS | HMO | $27.17 | — |
| Oscar | HIX | $28.15 | — |
| BCBS | EPOSOA | $29.12 | — |
| BCBS | PPO | $31.07 | — |
| Aetna | QHPExchange | $35.67 | — |
| Cigna | CSN | $40.44 | — |
| Superior Health Plan | CHPFC | $41.27 | — |
| Superior Health Plan | CHIP | $41.27 | — |
| Superior Health Plan | STARPLUS | $41.27 | — |
| Superior Health Plan | STARKids | $41.27 | — |
| Superior Health Plan | STAR | $41.27 | — |
| Cigna | OpenAccessPlus | $43.80 | — |
| Aetna | NBPPO | $47.43 | — |
| Aetna | NBHMO | $47.43 | — |
| Aetna | NBPOS | $47.43 | — |
| Aetna | COMMPPO | $50.39 | — |
| Aetna | COMMPOS | $50.39 | — |
| Aetna | COMMHMO | $50.39 | — |
| Cigna | PPO | $52.12 | — |
| Aetna | OONHMO | $59.20 | — |
| Aetna | OONPPO | $59.20 | — |
| Aetna | OONPOS | $59.20 | — |
| Aetna | ASAPOS | $64.01 | — |
| Aetna | ASAPPO | $64.01 | — |
| Aetna | ASAHMO | $64.01 | — |
| Community Health Choice MCD | CHIP | $89.41 | — |
| Community Health Choice MCD | CHIPPerinatal | $89.41 | — |
| Community Health Choice MCD | STAR | $89.41 | — |
| Community Health Choice MCD | STAR+PLUS | $89.41 | — |
| Humana | PPO | $94.87 | — |
| Humana | HMO | $94.87 | — |
| Amerigroup | MGMCD | $96.28 | — |
| Amerigroup | MCDCHIPBH | $96.28 | — |
| Texas Childrens Health Plans | CHIP | $114.17 | — |
| United | OptionsPPO | $121.04 | — |
| Texas Childrens Health Plans | STAR | $163.00 | — |
| Texas Childrens Health Plans | STARKIDS | $163.00 | — |
| Texas Workforce Commission | WCOMP | $165.06 | — |
| Evry Health | BroadNetwork | $187.76 | — |
| Imagine Health | PPO | $240.71 | — |
| BCBS | Traditional | $240.71 | — |
| Kelsey Care (Boon-Chapman) | COMM | $240.71 | — |
| Curative Administrators | COMM | $275.10 | — |
| HealthSmart Preferred Care | ACCEL | $295.73 | — |
| Averde Health | Commercial | $309.49 | — |
| Fidelis SecureCare of TX | MGMCR | $309.49 | — |
| United | GlobalAppendix | $309.49 | — |
| Multiplan | SAVILITYNETWORK | $343.88 | — |
| Coventry National First Health | COMM | $366.57 | — |
| Rockport Workers Comp | COMM | $378.26 | — |
| Physicians Cooperative of Texas | WC | $378.26 | — |
| SouthWest Medical | WORKERSCOMP | $412.65 | — |
| Independent Medical System | COMM | $412.65 | — |
| National Healthcare Solutions | COMM | $412.65 | — |
| Beech Street | WCOMP | $412.65 | — |
| Coastal Comp | COMM | $447.04 | — |
| Beech Street | COMMPPO | $550.20 | — |
| HealthSmart Preferred Care | PPO | $563.96 | — |
| HealthSmart Preferred Care | ACCOUNTABLEPPO | $584.59 | — |
| Physicians, INC | COMM | $584.59 | — |
| Affiliated PPO | COMM | $618.98 | — |
| Multiplan | COMPLEMENTARYPPO | $618.98 | — |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Fern test at other Texas hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Luke's Health - Brazosport Hospital | Lake Jackson | $9.80 | $4.20 – $40.68 |
| Ascension Providence | Waco | $11.34 | $15.53 – $22.69 |
| Dell Seton Medical Center at The University of Texas (Ascension Seton) | Austin | $70.02 | $10.54 – $45.88 |
| Adventhealth Rollins Brook | Lampasas | not published | $8.77 – $37.50 |
| HCA HOUSTON MEDICAL CENTER | Houston | not published | $9.55 – $40.44 |
| Covenant Children's Hospital | Lubbock | not published | $21.27 – $42.47 |
| HCA HOUSTON CONROE | CONROE | not published | $9.55 – $40.44 |
| HCA HOUSTON KINGWOOD | HUMBLE | not published | $9.55 – $40.44 |