Observation direct referral from physician office for admission at HCA HOUSTON TOMBALL
5003 CYPRESS CREEK PKWY, HOUSTON, TX · HCA Houston Healthcare · · NPI 1750819025
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.
?
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.
?
The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$81.99 with United vs $426.19 with BCBS — same scan, same building. Share
Negotiated rates by payer
?
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 →
?
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| United | OptionsPPO | $81.99 | — |
| BCBS | Traditional | $170.82 | — |
| Coventry National First Health | COMM | $177.65 | — |
| Christus (USFHP) | TRICARE | $195.22 | — |
| United | GlobalAppendix | $219.62 | — |
| BCBS | MyBlueHealth | $297.69 | — |
| BCBS | BAV | $328.23 | — |
| BCBS | HMO | $410.92 | — |
| BCBS | EPOSOA | $418.55 | — |
| BCBS | PPO | $426.19 | — |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Observation direct referral from physician office for admission at other Texas hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baylor St Luke's Medical Center | Houston | $545.65 | $90.90 – $1,559.00 |
| St. Luke's Health - The Vintage Hospital | Houston | $545.65 | $90.00 – $1,559.00 |
| HCA HOUSTON MEDICAL CENTER | Houston | not published | $297.69 – $297.69 |
| HCA HOUSTON WEST | HOUSTON | not published | $297.69 – $297.69 |
| Adventhealth Rollins Brook | Lampasas | $162.54 | $489.80 – $489.80 |
| BAYLOR UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER | Dallas | $554.33 | $157.06 – $1,591.17 |
| BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE MEDICAL CENTER - BRENHAM | Brenham | $527.99 | $71.00 – $1,591.17 |
| BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE MEDICAL CENTER - BUDA | Suite 110 | $602.45 | $71.00 – $1,591.17 |