Assay of urine sulfate at Baylor St Luke's Medical Center

1101 Bates Avenue, Houston, TX · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1184622847

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

$9.45

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.

$27.00

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.

$3.95 with Renaissance vs $27.00 with MHealth Network — 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
Renaissance Commercial|All Plans $3.95 ↓ -58%
Wellpoint Medicaid|All Other Plans $4.61 ↓ -51%
TCHP Medicaid|STARKIDS $4.61 ↓ -51%
TCHP Medicaid|All Other Plans $4.61 ↓ -51%
Wellpoint Medicaid|STARKIDS $4.61 ↓ -51%
Wellpoint Medicaid|CHIP $4.61 ↓ -51%
UHC Medicaid|CHIP $4.70 ↓ -50%
UNITED Medicaid|All Other Plans $4.70 ↓ -50%
UHC Medicaid|STARKIDS $4.70 ↓ -50%
BCBS Medicaid|All Plans $4.84 ↓ -49%
CHC Medicaid|All Other Plans $5.30 ↓ -44%
Humana Medicare|TRANSPLANT $5.49 ↓ -42%
AETNA Medicare|TRANSPLANT $5.49 ↓ -42%
CIGNA HEALTHSPRING Medicare|HMO $5.49 ↓ -42%
KELSEY Medicare|All Plans $5.49 ↓ -42%
BCBS Medicare|All Plans $5.49 ↓ -42%
Humana Medicare|All Other Plans $5.49 ↓ -42%
CIGNA HEALTHSPRING Medicare|PPO $5.54 ↓ -41%
UHC-SecureHorizons Medicare|All Plans $5.60 ↓ -41%
AETNA Medicare|All Other Plans $5.60 ↓ -41%
Amerivantage Medicare|All Plans $5.65 ↓ -40%
SELECTCARE Medicare|All Plans $5.76 ↓ -39%
DEVOTED Medicare|All Plans $5.87 ↓ -38%
SCANHealth Medicare|All Plans $5.87 ↓ -38%
Wellpoint Medicaid|STAR $6.18 ↓ -35%
TCHP Medicaid|STAR $6.18 ↓ -35%
UNITED Medicaid|STAR $6.32 ↓ -33%
KINDRED Medicare|All Plans $6.59 ↓ -30%
BCBS - TX Commercial|MyBlue Health Exchange $6.59 ↓ -30%
CHC Medicaid|STAR $7.10 ↓ -25%
OPTUM Medicare|All Plans $7.29 ↓ -23%
KelseyCare Commercial|Exchange $7.41 ↓ -22%
BCBS - TX Commercial|Blue Advantage Exchange $7.63 ↓ -19%
Employer Direct Commercial|PPO $7.69 ↓ -19%
Harris Health Commercial|ERS $8.23 ↓ -13%
Superior Health Plan Commercial|All Plans $8.23 ↓ -13%
Wellpoint Commercial|Exchange $8.23 ↓ -13%
Community Health Choice Commercial|All Other Plans $8.23 ↓ -13%
Community Health Choice Commercial|Exchange $8.23 ↓ -13%
Aetna Commercial|Exchange $8.45 ↓ -11%
United Commercial|Exchange $8.79 ↓ -7%
United Commercial|HMO $8.79 ↓ -7%
United Commercial|PPO $8.79 ↓ -7%
United Commercial|Charter $8.79 ↓ -7%
Bright Health Commercial|All Plans $9.06 ↓ -4%
OPTUM Medicaid|STAR $9.77 ↑ +3%
TCHPCHIP Medicaid|HMO $11.07 ↑ +17%
TCH Commercial|Transplant $12.15 ↑ +29%
United Commercial|Optum $12.69 ↑ +34%
Cigna Commercial|Surefit $13.22 ↑ +40%
Shell Commercial|All Plans $13.50 ↑ +43%
UHC Medicaid|STARPLUS $14.38 ↑ +52%
UNITED Medicaid|STARPLUS $14.38 ↑ +52%
Cigna Commercial|HMO $14.59 ↑ +54%
CHC Medicaid|CHIP $14.85 ↑ +57%
CHC Medicaid|HMO $14.85 ↑ +57%
TEXASTRUECHOICE Medicaid|CHIP $14.85 ↑ +57%
BCBS - TX Commercial|Premier $15.87 ↑ +68%
Cigna Lifesource Commercial|Transplant $16.20 ↑ +71%
Coventry Commercial|PPO $17.55 ↑ +86%
Humana Commercial|Transplant $17.55 ↑ +86%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $17.55 ↑ +86%
BCBS - TX Commercial|Transplant $17.67 ↑ +87%
NX Health Commercial|PPO $17.84 ↑ +89%
Healthsmart Commercial|PPO $18.90 ↑ +100%
Interlink Commercial|Transplant $18.90 ↑ +100%
Cigna Commercial|Transplant $18.90 ↑ +100%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $19.94 ↑ +111%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $20.25 ↑ +114%
BCBS - TX Commercial|PPO Trad $21.08 ↑ +123%
BCBS - TX Commercial|HMO $21.91 ↑ +132%
OPTUM Medicaid|STARPLUS $22.31 ↑ +136%
USA Health Network Commercial|All Plans $22.95 ↑ +143%
MHealth Network Commercial|PPO $27.00 ↑ +186%

Visitor-reported prices

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Assay of urine sulfate at other Texas hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. Luke's Health - The Vintage Hospital Houston $9.45 $3.95 – $27.00
HCA HOUSTON MEDICAL CENTER Houston not published $4.61 – $22.30
HCA HOUSTON WEST HOUSTON not published $4.52 – $22.30
HCA HOUSTON TOMBALL HOUSTON not published $4.61 – $22.30
BAYLOR UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER Dallas $40.73 $4.61 – $50.91
BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE MEDICAL CENTER - BRENHAM Brenham $45.67 $8.05 – $68.51
BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE MEDICAL CENTER - BUDA Suite 110 $44.62 $4.61 – $55.78
BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE MEDICAL CENTER - CENTENNIAL Frisco $40.73 $4.61 – $50.91

All Texas hospitals for this procedure →