Biopsy of salivary gland 42400 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

$528.25

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.

$1,594.95

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.

$797.48 with SoundPath vs $4,556.00 with Cigna — 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
SoundPath Medicare|All Plans $797.48 ↑ +51%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $797.48 ↑ +51%
Optum Medicare|All Plans $805.45 ↑ +52%
Seattle Medical Group Medicare|All Plans $813.35 ↑ +54%
BCBS - Regence Medicare|All Plans $821.40 ↑ +55%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $821.40 ↑ +55%
BCBS - Premera Medicare|All Plans $821.40 ↑ +55%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $853.30 ↑ +62%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $861.28 ↑ +63%
United Medicare|All Plans $861.28 ↑ +63%
Amerigroup Medicare|All Plans $869.25 ↑ +65%
CHPW Medicare|All Plans $917.10 ↑ +74%
Aetna Commercial|Rental $1,148.37 ↑ +117%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $1,196.22 ↑ +126%
Molina Commercial|Marketplace Exchange $1,531.16 ↑ +190%
Coordinated Care Commercial|Ambetter Exchange $1,579.01 ↑ +199%
Sound Family Medicine Commercial|All Plans $1,594.96 ↑ +202%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|LifeWise Primary Exchange $1,628.68 ↑ +208%
Uniform Medical Plan Commercial|All Plans $1,738.85 ↑ +229%
Kaiser Commercial|HMO $1,765.78 ↑ +234%
Kaiser Commercial|PPO $1,942.50 ↑ +268%
BCBS - Regence Commercial|All Plans $1,993.85 ↑ +277%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|All Other Plans $2,354.41 ↑ +346%
United Commercial|Navigate $2,516.44 ↑ +376%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $2,648.92 ↑ +401%
United Commercial|Cascade Care $2,648.92 ↑ +401%
Aetna Commercial|AWH $2,982.58 ↑ +465%
First Choice Commercial|All Plans $3,098.30 ↑ +487%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $3,508.91 ↑ +564%
Cigna Commercial|All Plans $4,556.00 ↑ +762%

Visitor-reported prices

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Biopsy of salivary gland 42400 at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MultiCare Mary Bridge Children's Hospital Tacoma $362.80 $649.17 – $5,104.15
MultiCare Allenmore Hospital Tacoma $362.80 $652.42 – $3,399.19
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $1,899.84 $820.01 – $2,867.05
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $2,369.50 $789.10 – $2,008.27
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $1,899.84 $820.01 – $2,775.55
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $1,899.84 $822.31 – $2,867.05
Providence St Mary Medical Center Walla Walla $807.80 $623.43 – $2,769.45
Kadlec Regional Medical Center Richland $3,678.50 $102.98 – $2,263.14

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →