Dextrose 5 % IV bolus at St. Luke's Health - Patients Medical Center

4600 E. Sam Houston Parkway South, Pasadena, TX · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1407990088

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

$9.56

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.

$27.30

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.

$5.14 with United vs $23.10 with BCBS-TX — 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
United Commercial|Exchange $5.14 ↓ -46%
United Commercial|PPO $7.74 ↓ -19%
United Commercial|Charter $7.74 ↓ -19%
United Commercial|HMO $7.74 ↓ -19%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $10.77 ↑ +13%
Cigna Commercial|HMO $11.35 ↑ +19%
Cigna Commercial|Surefit $11.35 ↑ +19%
Cigna Lifesource Commercial|Transplant $13.86 ↑ +45%
Coventry Commercial|PPO $15.02 ↑ +57%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $15.02 ↑ +57%
Cigna Commercial|Transplant $16.17 ↑ +69%
Healthsmart Commercial|PPO $16.17 ↑ +69%
BCBS - TX Commercial|MyBlue Health Exchange $16.52 ↑ +73%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $17.33 ↑ +81%
BCBS-TX Commercial|Exchange $18.65 ↑ +95%
BCBS-TX Commercial|HMO $23.10 ↑ +142%
BCBS-TX Commercial|Blue Premier $23.10 ↑ +142%
BCBS-TX Commercial|PPO $23.10 ↑ +142%

Visitor-reported prices

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Dextrose 5 % IV bolus at other Texas hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
HCA HOUSTON SOUTHEAST PASADENA $373.44 $3.64 – $48.12
Adventhealth Rollins Brook Lampasas $137.39 $58.37 – $58.37
HCA HOUSTON CLEAR LAKE FRIENDSWOOD $508.55 $3.64 – $48.12
HCA HOUSTON MEDICAL CENTER Houston $404.30 $3.64 – $48.12
Covenant Children's Hospital Lubbock $47.69 $10.64 – $60.53
HCA HOUSTON NORTHWEST SPRING $354.45 $3.64 – $48.12
Baylor St Luke's Medical Center Houston $10.75 $1.28 – $5.79
HCA HOUSTON PEARLAND Pearland $483.65 $3.64 – $48.12

All Texas hospitals for this procedure →