Catheterization collection of specimen single patient all places of service 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

$71.50

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.

Full explanation →

What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$215.86

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.

Full explanation →

The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$4.41 with Cigna vs $161.90 with MultiPlan — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
?

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 $4.41 ↓ -94%
SoundPath Medicare|All Plans $9.09 ↓ -87%
BCBS - Regence Medicare|All Plans $9.09 ↓ -87%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $9.09 ↓ -87%
Optum Medicare|All Plans $9.18 ↓ -87%
BCBS - Regence Commercial|All Plans $9.27 ↓ -87%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $9.36 ↓ -87%
BCBS - Premera Medicare|All Plans $9.36 ↓ -87%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|LifeWise Primary Exchange $9.39 ↓ -87%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $9.73 ↓ -86%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $9.82 ↓ -86%
United Medicare|All Plans $9.82 ↓ -86%
Seattle Medical Group Medicare|All Plans $9.86 ↓ -86%
Amerigroup Medicare|All Plans $9.91 ↓ -86%
CHPW Medicare|All Plans $10.45 ↓ -85%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $10.60 ↓ -85%
United Commercial|Cascade Care $10.60 ↓ -85%
United Commercial|Navigate $10.60 ↓ -85%
First Choice Commercial|All Plans $12.87 ↓ -82%
Uniform Medical Plan Commercial|All Plans $13.25 ↓ -81%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|All Other Plans $13.25 ↓ -81%
Aetna Commercial|WEA $16.34 ↓ -77%
Molina Commercial|Marketplace Exchange $17.45 ↓ -76%
Coordinated Care Commercial|Ambetter Exchange $18.00 ↓ -75%
Sound Family Medicine Commercial|All Plans $18.18 ↓ -75%
Kaiser Commercial|HMO $23.32 ↓ -67%
Kaiser Commercial|PPO $25.65 ↓ -64%
Aetna Commercial|AWH $34.00 ↓ -52%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $40.00 ↓ -44%
Aetna Commercial|Rental $155.42 ↑ +117%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $161.90 ↑ +126%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Catheterization collection of specimen single patient all places of service at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MultiCare Mary Bridge Children's Hospital Tacoma not published $1.65 – $9.61
MultiCare Allenmore Hospital Tacoma not published $1.66 – $18.31
Providence St Joseph Hospital Chewelah $65.80 not published
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $131.60 $5.70 – $18.94
Central Medical Center Seattle $32.80 not published
Providence St Mary Medical Center Walla Walla $77.00 $9.34 – $17.28
Providence Holy Family Hospital Spokane $116.90 $7.88 – $3,379.00
St. Michael Medical Center Silverdale $95.27 $7.80 – $194.28

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →