Blood split unit at St. Joseph Medical Center
1717 South J Street, Tacoma, WA · Vmfh · · NPI 1952309098
$179.63
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.
$542.36
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.
$160.72 with SoundPath vs $707.17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| SoundPath | Medicare|All Plans | $160.72 | ↓ -11% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $160.72 | ↓ -11% |
| Optum | Medicare|All Plans | $162.33 | ↓ -10% |
| BCBS - Premera | Medicare|All Plans | $165.54 | ↓ -8% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $165.54 | ↓ -8% |
| BCBS - Regence | Medicare|All Plans | $165.54 | ↓ -8% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $171.97 | ↓ -4% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $173.58 | ↓ -3% |
| Molina | Medicare|All Plans | $173.58 | ↓ -3% |
| Seattle Medical Group | Medicare|All Plans | $174.27 | ↓ -3% |
| Amerigroup | Medicare|All Plans | $175.18 | ↓ -2% |
| CHPW | Medicare|All Plans | $184.83 | ↑ +3% |
| First Choice | Commercial|All Plans | $289.56 | ↑ +61% |
| Molina | Commercial|Marketplace Exchange | $308.58 | ↑ +72% |
| Coordinated Care | Commercial|Ambetter Exchange | $318.23 | ↑ +77% |
| Sound Family Medicine | Commercial|All Plans | $321.44 | ↑ +79% |
| BCBS - Premera | Commercial|LifeWise Primary Exchange | $362.18 | ↑ +102% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|HMO | $378.34 | ↑ +111% |
| Uniform Medical Plan | Commercial|All Plans | $386.67 | ↑ +115% |
| Aetna | Commercial|Rental | $390.50 | ↑ +117% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $406.77 | ↑ +126% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|PPO | $416.20 | ↑ +132% |
| BCBS - Regence | Commercial|All Plans | $443.38 | ↑ +147% |
| United | Commercial|Navigate | $507.15 | ↑ +182% |
| BCBS - Premera | Commercial|All Other Plans | $523.57 | ↑ +191% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $533.85 | ↑ +197% |
| United | Commercial|Cascade Care | $533.85 | ↑ +197% |
| Aetna | Commercial|AWH | $601.09 | ↑ +235% |
| Aetna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $707.17 | ↑ +294% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Blood split unit at other Washington hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| MultiCare Mary Bridge Children's Hospital | Tacoma | not published | $105.11 – $1,093.63 |
| MultiCare Allenmore Hospital | Tacoma | not published | $105.64 – $732.19 |
| Providence St Luke's Rehabilitation Medical Center | Spokane | $314.30 | $155.84 – $171.42 |
| Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus | Seattle | $81.12 | $155.84 – $598.44 |
| Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital | Spokane | $314.30 | $155.84 – $484.13 |
| Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill | Seattle | $81.12 | $155.84 – $564.82 |
| Swedish Issaquah | Issaquah | $81.12 | $155.84 – $598.44 |
| Central Medical Center | Seattle | $80.00 | not published |