Bckdhb gene 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

$55.56

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.

$167.73

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.

$94.99 with BCBS - Regence vs $417.96 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
BCBS - Regence Medicare|All Plans $94.99 ↑ +71%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $94.99 ↑ +71%
SoundPath Medicare|All Plans $94.99 ↑ +71%
Optum Medicare|All Plans $95.94 ↑ +73%
BCBS - Premera Medicare|All Plans $97.84 ↑ +76%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $97.84 ↑ +76%
BCBS - Regence Commercial|All Plans $99.74 ↑ +80%
First Choice Commercial|All Plans $100.64 ↑ +81%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|LifeWise Primary Exchange $100.97 ↑ +82%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $101.64 ↑ +83%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $102.59 ↑ +85%
United Medicare|All Plans $102.59 ↑ +85%
Amerigroup Medicare|All Plans $103.54 ↑ +86%
CHPW Medicare|All Plans $109.24 ↑ +97%
Seattle Medical Group Medicare|All Plans $109.24 ↑ +97%
United Commercial|Cascade Care $113.99 ↑ +105%
United Commercial|Navigate $113.99 ↑ +105%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $113.99 ↑ +105%
Aetna Commercial|Rental $120.77 ↑ +117%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $125.80 ↑ +126%
Cigna Commercial|All Plans $139.53 ↑ +151%
Uniform Medical Plan Commercial|All Plans $142.49 ↑ +156%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|All Other Plans $142.49 ↑ +156%
Molina Commercial|Marketplace Exchange $182.38 ↑ +228%
Coordinated Care Commercial|Ambetter Exchange $188.08 ↑ +239%
Sound Family Medicine Commercial|All Plans $189.98 ↑ +242%
Kaiser Commercial|HMO $258.46 ↑ +365%
Kaiser Commercial|PPO $284.32 ↑ +412%
Aetna Commercial|AWH $355.26 ↑ +539%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $417.96 ↑ +652%

Visitor-reported prices

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Bckdhb gene at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MultiCare Mary Bridge Children's Hospital Tacoma not published $30.61 – $108.67
MultiCare Allenmore Hospital Tacoma not published $30.76 – $186.18
St. Michael Medical Center Silverdale $74.03 $94.99 – $222.28
St. Anne Hospital Burien $51.22 $72.13 – $188.08
St. Anthony Hospital Gig Harbor $51.02 $94.99 – $188.08
St. Elizabeth Hospital Enumclaw $59.27 $28.52 – $180.48
Virginia Mason Medical Center Seattle $144.33 $66.49 – $296.91
St. Francis Hospital Federal Way $52.64 $94.99 – $188.08

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →