Arthrd ant ntrbd min dsc crv 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

not published by hospital

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.

not published by hospital

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.

$0.70 with Cigna vs $64,168.59 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
Cigna Commercial|All Plans $0.70
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $14,583.77
SoundPath Medicare|All Plans $14,583.77
Optum Medicare|All Plans $14,729.61
BCBS - Regence Medicare|All Plans $15,021.28
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $15,021.28
BCBS - Premera Medicare|All Plans $15,021.28
Humana Medicare|All Plans $15,604.63
Molina Medicare|All Plans $15,750.47
United Medicare|All Plans $15,750.47
Amerigroup Medicare|All Plans $15,896.31
Seattle Medical Group Medicare|All Plans $16,353.07
CHPW Medicare|All Plans $16,771.34
First Choice Commercial|All Plans $19,331.89
Molina Commercial|Marketplace Exchange $28,000.84
Coordinated Care Commercial|Ambetter Exchange $28,875.86
Sound Family Medicine Commercial|All Plans $29,167.54
BCBS - Premera Commercial|LifeWise Primary Exchange $30,466.28
Uniform Medical Plan Commercial|All Plans $32,527.04
Kaiser Commercial|HMO $35,502.52
BCBS - Regence Commercial|All Plans $37,297.19
Kaiser Commercial|PPO $39,055.51
BCBS - Premera Commercial|All Other Plans $44,041.93
United Commercial|Navigate $46,019.20
United Commercial|Cascade Care $48,441.95
United Commercial|All Other Plans $48,441.95
Aetna Commercial|AWH $54,543.30
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $64,168.59
Aetna Commercial|Rental not published by hospital
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

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Arthrd ant ntrbd min dsc crv at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MultiCare Mary Bridge Children's Hospital Tacoma not published $7,244.23 – $102,623.15
MultiCare Allenmore Hospital Tacoma not published $7,280.50 – $61,628.63
Providence St Luke's Rehabilitation Medical Center Spokane not published $14,306.71 – $15,737.38
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle not published $7,277.00 – $57,956.46
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane not published $5,419.00 – $36,892.20
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle not published $7,277.00 – $55,814.33
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah not published $7,277.00 – $57,956.46
Central Medical Center Seattle not published not published

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →