Conversion ext bil drg cath at St. Joseph Medical Center
1717 South J Street, Tacoma, WA · Vmfh · · NPI 1952309098
$1,506.40
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.
$4,548.34
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.
$3,274.81 with Aetna vs $17,599.91 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aetna | Commercial|Rental | $3,274.81 | ↑ +117% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $3,411.26 | ↑ +126% |
| SoundPath | Medicare|All Plans | $3,999.98 | ↑ +166% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $3,999.98 | ↑ +166% |
| Optum | Medicare|All Plans | $4,039.98 | ↑ +168% |
| BCBS - Regence | Medicare|All Plans | $4,119.98 | ↑ +173% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $4,119.98 | ↑ +173% |
| BCBS - Premera | Medicare|All Plans | $4,119.98 | ↑ +173% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $4,279.98 | ↑ +184% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $4,319.98 | ↑ +187% |
| Molina | Medicare|All Plans | $4,319.98 | ↑ +187% |
| Amerigroup | Medicare|All Plans | $4,359.98 | ↑ +189% |
| Seattle Medical Group | Medicare|All Plans | $4,439.08 | ↑ +195% |
| CHPW | Medicare|All Plans | $4,599.98 | ↑ +205% |
| Molina | Commercial|Marketplace Exchange | $7,679.96 | ↑ +410% |
| Coordinated Care | Commercial|Ambetter Exchange | $7,919.96 | ↑ +426% |
| Sound Family Medicine | Commercial|All Plans | $7,999.96 | ↑ +431% |
| BCBS - Premera | Commercial|LifeWise Primary Exchange | $8,008.66 | ↑ +432% |
| Uniform Medical Plan | Commercial|All Plans | $8,550.38 | ↑ +468% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|HMO | $9,637.24 | ↑ +540% |
| BCBS - Regence | Commercial|All Plans | $9,804.30 | ↑ +551% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|PPO | $10,601.70 | ↑ +604% |
| BCBS - Premera | Commercial|All Other Plans | $11,577.28 | ↑ +669% |
| United | Commercial|Navigate | $12,621.96 | ↑ +738% |
| United | Commercial|Cascade Care | $13,286.46 | ↑ +782% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $13,286.46 | ↑ +782% |
| Aetna | Commercial|AWH | $14,959.93 | ↑ +893% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Plans | $16,415.00 | ↑ +990% |
| Aetna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $17,599.91 | ↑ +1068% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Conversion ext bil drg cath at other Washington hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| MultiCare Mary Bridge Children's Hospital | Tacoma | $1,809.20 | $1,780.01 – $27,857.28 |
| MultiCare Allenmore Hospital | Tacoma | $1,809.20 | $1,788.92 – $17,186.76 |
| Providence St Joseph Hospital | Chewelah | $6,818.00 | not published |
| Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus | Seattle | $10,097.28 | $4,146.07 – $15,142.49 |
| Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital | Spokane | $3,220.00 | $3,989.80 – $10,154.04 |
| Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill | Seattle | $10,097.28 | $4,146.07 – $14,582.80 |
| Swedish Issaquah | Issaquah | $10,097.28 | $4,157.70 – $15,142.49 |
| Providence Centralia Hospital | Centralia | $7,400.12 | $4,146.07 – $18,189.64 |