App high cost ss t/a/l >100sq cm 1st 100sq cm at St. Joseph Medical Center

1717 South J Street, Tacoma, WA · Vmfh · · NPI 1952309098

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Feb 28, 2026 · Ingested Sep 17, 2026

$3,058.21

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.

$9,233.77

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.

$1,887.63 with First Choice vs $18,257.76 with Aetna — 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
First Choice Commercial|All Plans $1,887.63 ↓ -38%
Seattle Medical Group Medicare|All Plans $4,077.01 ↑ +33%
SoundPath Medicare|All Plans $4,149.49 ↑ +36%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $4,149.49 ↑ +36%
Optum Medicare|All Plans $4,190.98 ↑ +37%
BCBS - Premera Medicare|All Plans $4,273.97 ↑ +40%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $4,273.97 ↑ +40%
BCBS - Regence Medicare|All Plans $4,273.97 ↑ +40%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $4,439.95 ↑ +45%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $4,481.45 ↑ +47%
United Medicare|All Plans $4,481.45 ↑ +47%
Amerigroup Medicare|All Plans $4,522.94 ↑ +48%
Cigna Commercial|All Plans $4,556.00 ↑ +49%
CHPW Medicare|All Plans $4,771.91 ↑ +56%
Aetna Commercial|Rental $6,648.32 ↑ +117%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $6,925.33 ↑ +126%
Molina Commercial|Marketplace Exchange $7,967.02 ↑ +161%
Coordinated Care Commercial|Ambetter Exchange $8,215.99 ↑ +169%
Sound Family Medicine Commercial|All Plans $8,298.98 ↑ +171%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|LifeWise Primary Exchange $8,304.88 ↑ +172%
Kaiser Commercial|HMO $8,851.20 ↑ +189%
Uniform Medical Plan Commercial|All Plans $8,866.62 ↑ +190%
Kaiser Commercial|PPO $9,737.00 ↑ +218%
BCBS - Regence Commercial|All Plans $10,166.93 ↑ +232%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|All Other Plans $12,005.50 ↑ +293%
United Commercial|Navigate $13,093.74 ↑ +328%
United Commercial|Cascade Care $13,783.08 ↑ +351%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $13,783.08 ↑ +351%
Aetna Commercial|AWH $15,519.09 ↑ +407%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $18,257.76 ↑ +497%

Visitor-reported prices

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App high cost ss t/a/l >100sq cm 1st 100sq cm at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MultiCare Mary Bridge Children's Hospital Tacoma $1,758.00 $1,383.82 – $25,585.16
MultiCare Allenmore Hospital Tacoma $1,758.00 $1,390.75 – $15,061.58
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $8,669.76 $2,389.26 – $13,993.26
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $8,669.76 $2,389.26 – $13,546.67
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $8,669.76 $2,395.96 – $13,993.26
Kadlec Regional Medical Center Richland $3,448.90 $333.90 – $11,045.75
Providence Regional Medical Center Everett - Colby Campus Everett $4,610.32 $2,349.67 – $11,611.43
MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital Yakima $4,474.40 $2,461.46 – $11,166.01

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →