Colposcopy vulva w/biopsy 56821 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

not published by hospital

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.

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

not published by hospital

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.

$344.78 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 $344.78
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $344.78
Optum Medicare|All Plans $348.23
BCBS - Regence Medicare|All Plans $355.12
BCBS - Premera Medicare|All Plans $355.12
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $355.12
Seattle Medical Group Medicare|All Plans $365.91
Humana Medicare|All Plans $368.91
Molina Medicare|All Plans $372.36
United Medicare|All Plans $372.36
Amerigroup Medicare|All Plans $375.81
CHPW Medicare|All Plans $396.50
First Choice Commercial|All Plans $601.64
Molina Commercial|Marketplace Exchange $661.98
Coordinated Care Commercial|Ambetter Exchange $682.66
Sound Family Medicine Commercial|All Plans $689.56
BCBS - Premera Commercial|LifeWise Primary Exchange $742.63
Uniform Medical Plan Commercial|All Plans $792.85
Kaiser Commercial|HMO $794.39
Kaiser Commercial|PPO $873.89
BCBS - Regence Commercial|All Plans $909.12
BCBS - Premera Commercial|All Other Plans $1,073.54
United Commercial|Navigate $1,087.96
United Commercial|All Other Plans $1,145.24
United Commercial|Cascade Care $1,145.24
Aetna Commercial|AWH $1,289.48
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $1,517.03
Cigna Commercial|All Plans $4,556.00
Aetna Commercial|Rental not published by hospital
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

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Colposcopy vulva w/biopsy 56821 at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MultiCare Mary Bridge Children's Hospital Tacoma $456.80 $323.44 – $2,296.27
MultiCare Allenmore Hospital Tacoma $456.80 $325.06 – $1,462.78
MultiCare Auburn Medical Center Auburn $456.80 $317.59 – $1,462.78
MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital Puyallup $456.80 $324.94 – $1,462.78
Virginia Mason Medical Center Seattle $529.89 $4.86 – $540.88
MultiCare Capital Medical Center Olympia $456.80 $341.78 – $1,576.60
MultiCare Covington Medical Center Covington $456.80 $317.59 – $1,462.78
Providence St Luke's Rehabilitation Medical Center Spokane not published $339.57 – $373.53

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →