Consultation pathology during surgery cytological exam initial site at St. Joseph Medical Center
1717 South J Street, Tacoma, WA · Vmfh · · NPI 1952309098
$327.71
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.
$989.46
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.
$37.02 with Cigna vs $4,074.00 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cigna | Commercial|All Plans | $37.02 | ↓ -89% |
| First Choice | Commercial|All Plans | $59.10 | ↓ -82% |
| Aetna | Commercial|Rental | $712.42 | ↑ +117% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $742.10 | ↑ +126% |
| SoundPath | Medicare|All Plans | $925.91 | ↑ +183% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $925.91 | ↑ +183% |
| Optum | Medicare|All Plans | $935.17 | ↑ +185% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $953.69 | ↑ +191% |
| BCBS - Regence | Medicare|All Plans | $953.69 | ↑ +191% |
| BCBS - Premera | Medicare|All Plans | $953.69 | ↑ +191% |
| Seattle Medical Group | Medicare|All Plans | $973.20 | ↑ +197% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $990.72 | ↑ +202% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $999.98 | ↑ +205% |
| Molina | Medicare|All Plans | $999.98 | ↑ +205% |
| Amerigroup | Medicare|All Plans | $1,009.24 | ↑ +208% |
| CHPW | Medicare|All Plans | $1,064.80 | ↑ +225% |
| Molina | Commercial|Marketplace Exchange | $1,777.75 | ↑ +442% |
| Coordinated Care | Commercial|Ambetter Exchange | $1,833.30 | ↑ +459% |
| Sound Family Medicine | Commercial|All Plans | $1,851.82 | ↑ +465% |
| BCBS - Premera | Commercial|LifeWise Primary Exchange | $1,990.52 | ↑ +507% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|HMO | $2,112.81 | ↑ +545% |
| Uniform Medical Plan | Commercial|All Plans | $2,125.16 | ↑ +548% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|PPO | $2,324.25 | ↑ +609% |
| BCBS - Regence | Commercial|All Plans | $2,436.81 | ↑ +644% |
| BCBS - Premera | Commercial|All Other Plans | $2,877.49 | ↑ +778% |
| United | Commercial|Navigate | $2,921.72 | ↑ +792% |
| United | Commercial|Cascade Care | $3,075.54 | ↑ +838% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $3,075.54 | ↑ +838% |
| Aetna | Commercial|AWH | $3,462.90 | ↑ +957% |
| Aetna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $4,074.00 | ↑ +1143% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Consultation pathology during surgery cytological exam initial site at other Washington hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| MultiCare Mary Bridge Children's Hospital | Tacoma | $518.00 | $26.02 – $6,107.25 |
| MultiCare Allenmore Hospital | Tacoma | $518.00 | $26.15 – $3,867.44 |
| Providence St Joseph Hospital | Chewelah | $425.60 | not published |
| Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus | Seattle | $77.28 | $61.29 – $2,952.54 |
| Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital | Spokane | $286.30 | $67.42 – $2,284.91 |
| Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill | Seattle | $77.28 | $61.29 – $2,858.31 |
| Swedish Issaquah | Issaquah | $77.28 | $61.29 – $2,952.54 |
| Central Medical Center | Seattle | $1,939.20 | $2,020.00 – $2,020.00 |