Arthrd pst tq 1ntrspc lum at St. Joseph Medical Center
1717 South J Street, Tacoma, WA · Vmfh · · NPI 1952309098
not published by hospital
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.
not published by hospital
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.
$0.70 with Cigna vs $91,713.69 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 →
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cigna | Commercial|All Plans | $0.70 | — |
| Aetna | Commercial|WEA | $14,903.99 | — |
| SoundPath | Medicare|All Plans | $20,844.02 | — |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $20,844.02 | — |
| Optum | Medicare|All Plans | $21,052.46 | — |
| BCBS - Regence | Medicare|All Plans | $21,469.34 | — |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $21,469.34 | — |
| BCBS - Premera | Medicare|All Plans | $21,469.34 | — |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $22,303.10 | — |
| Molina | Medicare|All Plans | $22,511.54 | — |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $22,511.54 | — |
| Amerigroup | Medicare|All Plans | $22,719.98 | — |
| CHPW | Medicare|All Plans | $23,970.62 | — |
| Seattle Medical Group | Medicare|All Plans | $27,444.15 | — |
| Molina | Commercial|Marketplace Exchange | $40,020.52 | — |
| Coordinated Care | Commercial|Ambetter Exchange | $41,271.16 | — |
| Sound Family Medicine | Commercial|All Plans | $41,688.04 | — |
| BCBS - Premera | Commercial|LifeWise Primary Exchange | $43,140.00 | — |
| Uniform Medical Plan | Commercial|All Plans | $46,058.01 | — |
| BCBS - Regence | Commercial|All Plans | $52,812.50 | — |
| Kaiser | Commercial|HMO | $59,581.26 | — |
| BCBS - Premera | Commercial|All Other Plans | $62,363.00 | — |
| Kaiser | Commercial|PPO | $65,543.99 | — |
| United | Commercial|Navigate | $65,773.46 | — |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $69,236.19 | — |
| United | Commercial|Cascade Care | $69,236.19 | — |
| Aetna | Commercial|AWH | $77,956.63 | — |
| Aetna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $91,713.69 | — |
| Aetna | Commercial|Rental | not published by hospital | — |
| First Choice | Commercial|All Plans | not published by hospital | — |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | not published by hospital | — |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Arthrd pst tq 1ntrspc lum at other Washington hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| MultiCare Mary Bridge Children's Hospital | Tacoma | not published | $7,244.23 – $172,224.86 |
| MultiCare Allenmore Hospital | Tacoma | not published | $7,280.50 – $130,249.51 |
| Providence St Luke's Rehabilitation Medical Center | Spokane | not published | $5,046.97 – $33,260.31 |
| Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus | Seattle | not published | $7,277.00 – $95,456.75 |
| Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital | Spokane | not published | $5,419.00 – $76,952.26 |
| Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill | Seattle | not published | $7,277.00 – $73,524.95 |
| Swedish Issaquah | Issaquah | not published | $7,277.00 – $69,950.14 |
| Central Medical Center | Seattle | not published | not published |