After cataract laser surgery at Baylor St Luke's Medical Center
1101 Bates Avenue, Houston, TX · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1184622847
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.
$219.16 with Wellpoint vs $7,221.00 with Cigna — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wellpoint | Medicaid|CHIP | $219.16 | — |
| TCHP | Medicaid|STARKIDS | $219.16 | — |
| TCHP | Medicaid|All Other Plans | $219.16 | — |
| Wellpoint | Medicaid|STARKIDS | $219.16 | — |
| Wellpoint | Medicaid|All Other Plans | $219.16 | — |
| UNITED | Medicaid|All Other Plans | $223.54 | — |
| UHC | Medicaid|STARKIDS | $223.54 | — |
| UHC | Medicaid|CHIP | $223.54 | — |
| BCBS | Medicaid|All Plans | $230.12 | — |
| CHC | Medicaid|All Other Plans | $252.03 | — |
| Wellpoint | Medicaid|STAR | $293.67 | — |
| TCHP | Medicaid|STAR | $293.67 | — |
| UNITED | Medicaid|STAR | $300.25 | — |
| CHC | Medicaid|STAR | $337.51 | — |
| Renaissance | Commercial|All Plans | $395.63 | — |
| BCBS - TX | Commercial|Blue Advantage Exchange | $425.82 | — |
| BCBS - TX | Commercial|MyBlue Health Exchange | $466.38 | — |
| AETNA | Medicare|TRANSPLANT | $549.49 | — |
| CIGNA HEALTHSPRING | Medicare|HMO | $549.49 | — |
| KELSEY | Medicare|All Plans | $549.49 | — |
| Humana | Medicare|TRANSPLANT | $549.49 | — |
| BCBS | Medicare|All Plans | $549.49 | — |
| Humana | Medicare|All Other Plans | $549.49 | — |
| CIGNA HEALTHSPRING | Medicare|PPO | $554.98 | — |
| AETNA | Medicare|All Other Plans | $560.48 | — |
| UHC-SecureHorizons | Medicare|All Plans | $560.48 | — |
| Amerivantage | Medicare|All Plans | $565.97 | — |
| SELECTCARE | Medicare|All Plans | $576.96 | — |
| SCANHealth | Medicare|All Plans | $587.95 | — |
| DEVOTED | Medicare|All Plans | $587.95 | — |
| BCBS - TX | Commercial|Transplant | $608.62 | — |
| KINDRED | Medicare|All Plans | $659.39 | — |
| UNITED | Medicaid|STARPLUS | $683.78 | — |
| UHC | Medicaid|STARPLUS | $683.78 | — |
| KelseyCare | Commercial|Exchange | $741.81 | — |
| Employer Direct | Commercial|PPO | $769.29 | — |
| Community Health Choice | Commercial|All Other Plans | $824.24 | — |
| Harris Health | Commercial|ERS | $824.24 | — |
| Wellpoint | Commercial|Exchange | $824.24 | — |
| Superior Health Plan | Commercial|All Plans | $824.24 | — |
| Community Health Choice | Commercial|Exchange | $824.24 | — |
| Bright Health | Commercial|All Plans | $841.60 | — |
| Aetna | Commercial|Exchange | $846.21 | — |
| BCBS - TX | Commercial|Premier | $846.57 | — |
| BCBS - TX | Commercial|HMO | $1,034.14 | — |
| BCBS - TX | Commercial|PPO Trad | $1,115.25 | — |
| Aetna | Commercial|KelseyCare | $1,195.00 | — |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|AP3 | $1,285.00 | — |
| KelseyCare | Commercial|All Other Plans | $1,361.70 | — |
| Aetna | Commercial|HMO | $1,438.00 | — |
| United | Commercial|Exchange | $1,452.00 | — |
| Independent Med System | Commercial|All Plans | $1,675.00 | — |
| NX Health | Commercial|PPO | $1,785.84 | — |
| United | Commercial|Charter | $1,955.00 | — |
| Humana | Commercial|PPO | $1,980.00 | — |
| Humana | Commercial|HMO | $1,980.00 | — |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $2,172.00 | — |
| United | Commercial|PPO | $2,172.00 | — |
| Cigna | Commercial|Surefit | $2,609.00 | — |
| Cigna | Commercial|HMO | $2,875.00 | — |
| PHCS Savility | Commercial|PPO | $5,185.00 | — |
| PHCS | Commercial|PPO | $5,185.00 | — |
| Cigna | Commercial|PPO | $7,221.00 | — |
| OPTUM | Medicaid|STAR | not published by hospital | — |
| OPTUM | Medicare|All Plans | not published by hospital | — |
| United | Commercial|Optum | not published by hospital | — |
| Cigna | Commercial|Transplant | not published by hospital | — |
| Humana | Commercial|Transplant | not published by hospital | — |
| MHealth Network | Commercial|PPO | not published by hospital | — |
| TCHPCHIP | Medicaid|HMO | not published by hospital | — |
| TEXASTRUECHOICE | Medicaid|CHIP | not published by hospital | — |
| Cigna Lifesource | Commercial|Transplant | not published by hospital | — |
| USA Health Network | Commercial|All Plans | not published by hospital | — |
| Coventry | Commercial|PPO | not published by hospital | — |
| TCH | Commercial|Transplant | not published by hospital | — |
| Interlink | Commercial|Transplant | not published by hospital | — |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | not published by hospital | — |
| CHC | Medicaid|CHIP | not published by hospital | — |
| Aetna | Commercial|Transplant | not published by hospital | — |
| CHC | Medicaid|HMO | not published by hospital | — |
| Aetna | Commercial|PPO | not published by hospital | — |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | not published by hospital | — |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|PPO | not published by hospital | — |
| OPTUM | Medicaid|STARPLUS | not published by hospital | — |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
After cataract laser surgery at other Texas hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| HCA HOUSTON MEDICAL CENTER | Houston | not published | $223.54 – $1,039.21 |
| HCA HOUSTON WEST | HOUSTON | not published | $204.16 – $882.06 |
| St. Luke's Health - The Vintage Hospital | Houston | not published | $1,285.00 – $1,285.00 |
| HCA HOUSTON TOMBALL | HOUSTON | not published | $208.33 – $882.06 |
| BAYLOR UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER | Dallas | $1,373.11 | $208.33 – $1,716.38 |
| BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE MEDICAL CENTER - BRENHAM | Brenham | $1,324.46 | $71.00 – $3,421.00 |
| BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE MEDICAL CENTER - BUDA | Suite 110 | $1,637.51 | $71.00 – $3,421.00 |
| BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE MEDICAL CENTER - CENTENNIAL | Frisco | $1,373.11 | $208.33 – $1,716.38 |