X-ray thoracolumbar spine including skull cervical & sacral spine 2-3 views at Houston Methodist West Hospital
18500 Katy Freeway, Houston, TX · Houstonmethodist · · NPI 1083937593
$927.50
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.
$1,855.00
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.
$105.02 with Bcbs vs $443.84 with Bcbs — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bcbs | Medicare Managed Care - Hmo | $105.02 | ↓ -89% |
| Aetna | Medicare Managed Care - Hmo/Ppo | $106.60 | ↓ -89% |
| Unitedhealthcare | Medicare Managed Care - Hmo | $107.12 | ↓ -88% |
| Cigna | Texas Healthspring Medicare Managed Care - Hmo/Ppo | $108.17 | ↓ -88% |
| Molina Healthcare | Advantage Medicare Managed Care Plan | $110.27 | ↓ -88% |
| Community Health Choice | D-Snp Medicare Managed Care - Hmo | $112.37 | ↓ -88% |
| Procare Advantage | Medicare Managed Care - Hmo | $115.52 | ↓ -88% |
| Community Health Choice | Silver & Gold Exchange | $171.19 | ↓ -82% |
| Optum Health | Transplant Medicare Managed Care Plan | $204.79 | ↓ -78% |
| Molina Healthcare | Exchange | $210.04 | ↓ -77% |
| Aetna | New Business Discount Other Commercial Plan | $212.72 | ↓ -77% |
| Aetna | Hmo/Pos/Ppo | $219.20 | ↓ -76% |
| Uae | All Commercial Plans | $420.09 | ↓ -55% |
| Bcbs | All Commercial Plans | $443.84 | ↓ -52% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
X-ray thoracolumbar spine including skull cervical & sacral spine 2-3 views at other Texas hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baylor St Luke's Medical Center | Houston | $1,065.40 | $70.50 – $3,044.00 |
| St. Luke's Health - The Vintage Hospital | Houston | $1,065.40 | $70.50 – $3,044.00 |
| HCA HOUSTON TOMBALL | HOUSTON | $1,850.26 | $70.50 – $328.37 |
| Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital | Houston | $927.50 | $105.02 – $204.79 |
| Houston Methodist Hospital | Houston | $377.50 | $105.02 – $420.09 |
| HCA HOUSTON MEDICAL CENTER | Houston | not published | $70.50 – $328.37 |
| BAYLOR UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER | Dallas | $464.96 | $70.50 – $581.20 |
| BAYLOR SCOTT & WHITE MEDICAL CENTER - BRENHAM | Brenham | $242.35 | $49.88 – $363.52 |