Mra, w/dye, upper extremity at Houston Methodist Clear Lake Hospital
18300 St John Drive, Nassau Bay, TX · Houstonmethodist · · NPI 1952723967
$874.50
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.
$1,749.00
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.
$350.46 with Bcbs 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bcbs | Medicare Managed Care - Hmo | $350.46 | ↓ -60% |
| Aetna | Medicare Managed Care - Hmo/Ppo | $355.72 | ↓ -59% |
| Unitedhealthcare | Medicare Managed Care - Hmo | $357.47 | ↓ -59% |
| Cigna | Texas Healthspring Medicare Managed Care - Hmo/Ppo | $360.98 | ↓ -59% |
| Molina Healthcare | Advantage Medicare Managed Care Plan | $367.99 | ↓ -58% |
| Community Health Choice | D-Snp Medicare Managed Care - Hmo | $375.00 | ↓ -57% |
| Procare Advantage | Medicare Managed Care - Hmo | $385.51 | ↓ -56% |
| Community Health Choice | Silver & Gold Exchange | $571.26 | ↓ -35% |
| Optum Health | Transplant Medicare Managed Care Plan | $683.40 | ↓ -22% |
| Molina Healthcare | Exchange | $700.93 | ↓ -20% |
| Bcbs | Blue Advantage Exchange | $931.71 | ↑ +7% |
| Bcbs | All Commercial Plans | $1,512.13 | ↑ +73% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Mra, w/dye, upper extremity at other Texas hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Luke's Health - Patients Medical Center | Pasadena | $1,055.57 | $538.41 – $2,261.93 |
| Ascension Seton Edgar B. Davis (Ascension Seton) | Luling | $991.71 | $381.85 – $1,546.49 |
| Ascension Seton Highland Lakes (Ascension Seton) | Burnet | $1,039.32 | $381.85 – $1,546.49 |
| Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin (Ascension Seton) | Austin | $943.83 | $381.85 – $1,546.49 |
| Ascension Seton Northwest (Ascension Seton) | Austin | $943.83 | $381.85 – $1,546.49 |
| Ascension Seton Smithville (Ascension Seton) | Smithville | $1,040.49 | $381.85 – $1,546.49 |
| Dell Children's Medical Center (Ascension Seton) | Austin | $2,023.18 | $381.85 – $1,546.49 |
| Dell Seton Medical Center at The University of Texas (Ascension Seton) | Austin | $943.83 | $381.85 – $1,546.49 |