Assay of feces porphyrins at St. Joseph Medical Center
1717 South J Street, Tacoma, WA · Vmfh · · NPI 1952309098
$76.40
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.
$230.65
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.
$39.11 with Kaiser vs $172.99 with MultiPlan — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $39.11 | ↓ -49% |
| SoundPath | Medicare|All Plans | $39.11 | ↓ -49% |
| BCBS - Regence | Medicare|All Plans | $39.11 | ↓ -49% |
| Optum | Medicare|All Plans | $39.50 | ↓ -48% |
| BCBS - Premera | Medicare|All Plans | $40.28 | ↓ -47% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $40.28 | ↓ -47% |
| BCBS - Regence | Commercial|All Plans | $41.07 | ↓ -46% |
| BCBS - Premera | Commercial|LifeWise Primary Exchange | $41.57 | ↓ -46% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $41.85 | ↓ -45% |
| Molina | Medicare|All Plans | $42.24 | ↓ -45% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $42.24 | ↓ -45% |
| Amerigroup | Medicare|All Plans | $42.63 | ↓ -44% |
| CHPW | Medicare|All Plans | $44.98 | ↓ -41% |
| Seattle Medical Group | Medicare|All Plans | $44.98 | ↓ -41% |
| United | Commercial|Cascade Care | $46.93 | ↓ -39% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $46.93 | ↓ -39% |
| United | Commercial|Navigate | $46.93 | ↓ -39% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Plans | $57.45 | ↓ -25% |
| Uniform Medical Plan | Commercial|All Plans | $58.67 | ↓ -23% |
| BCBS - Premera | Commercial|All Other Plans | $58.67 | ↓ -23% |
| Molina | Commercial|Marketplace Exchange | $75.09 | ↓ -2% |
| Coordinated Care | Commercial|Ambetter Exchange | $77.44 | ↑ +1% |
| Sound Family Medicine | Commercial|All Plans | $78.22 | ↑ +2% |
| First Choice | Commercial|All Plans | $89.92 | ↑ +18% |
| Aetna | Commercial|WEA | $109.70 | ↑ +44% |
| Aetna | Commercial|AWH | $146.27 | ↑ +91% |
| Aetna | Commercial|Rental | $166.07 | ↑ +117% |
| Aetna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $172.08 | ↑ +125% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $172.99 | ↑ +126% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Assay of feces porphyrins at other Washington hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| MultiCare Mary Bridge Children's Hospital | Tacoma | $48.00 | $22.59 – $80.21 |
| MultiCare Allenmore Hospital | Tacoma | $48.00 | $22.71 – $76.66 |
| Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus | Seattle | $108.00 | $35.20 – $183.82 |
| Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill | Seattle | $108.00 | $35.20 – $177.95 |
| Swedish Issaquah | Issaquah | $108.00 | $35.20 – $183.82 |
| Central Medical Center | Seattle | $176.00 | $30.00 – $30.00 |
| Providence St Mary Medical Center | Walla Walla | $146.30 | $39.11 – $72.35 |
| St. Michael Medical Center | Silverdale | $101.80 | $39.11 – $207.59 |