Contrast x-ray of elbow at Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital
18220 Tomball Parkway, Houston, TX · Houstonmethodist · · NPI 1871619254
$1,131.00
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.
$2,262.00
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.
$277.89 with Aetna vs $1,512.13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aetna | New Business Discount Other Commercial Plan | $277.89 | ↓ -75% |
| Aetna | Hmo/Pos/Ppo | $286.35 | ↓ -75% |
| Bcbs | Medicare Managed Care - Hmo | $350.46 | ↓ -69% |
| Aetna | Medicare Managed Care - Hmo/Ppo | $355.72 | ↓ -69% |
| Unitedhealthcare | Medicare Managed Care - Hmo | $357.47 | ↓ -68% |
| Cigna | Texas Healthspring Medicare Managed Care - Hmo/Ppo | $360.98 | ↓ -68% |
| Molina Healthcare | Advantage Medicare Managed Care Plan | $367.99 | ↓ -67% |
| Community Health Choice | D-Snp Medicare Managed Care - Hmo | $375.00 | ↓ -67% |
| Procare Advantage | Medicare Managed Care - Hmo | $385.51 | ↓ -66% |
| Community Health Choice | Silver & Gold Exchange | $571.26 | ↓ -49% |
| Optum Health | Transplant Medicare Managed Care Plan | $683.40 | ↓ -40% |
| Molina Healthcare | Exchange | $700.93 | ↓ -38% |
| Cigna | Network C-24 Hmo/Ppo | $711.63 | ↓ -37% |
| Cigna | Local Plus/Surefit Hmo/Ppo | $712.00 | ↓ -37% |
| Cigna | Pcp Optional/Pcp Required Benefit Plans Hmo | $753.34 | ↓ -33% |
| Bcbs | All Commercial Plans | $1,512.13 | ↑ +34% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Contrast x-ray of elbow at other Texas hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baylor St Luke's Medical Center | Houston | $410.20 | $100.24 – $1,172.00 |
| St. Luke's Health - The Vintage Hospital | Houston | $410.20 | $93.76 – $1,172.00 |
| Houston Methodist Hospital | Houston | $245.00 | $293.40 – $1,401.85 |
| Houston Methodist West Hospital | Houston | $1,131.00 | $277.89 – $1,401.85 |
| HCA HOUSTON MEDICAL CENTER | Houston | not published | $110.26 – $672.06 |
| HCA HOUSTON WEST | HOUSTON | not published | $98.24 – $672.06 |
| HCA HOUSTON TOMBALL | HOUSTON | not published | $100.24 – $672.06 |
| BAYLOR UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER | Dallas | $495.60 | $100.24 – $952.69 |