Culture typing glc/hplc 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

$58.30

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.

Full explanation →

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

$176.00

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.

$12.52 with Kaiser vs $132.00 with MultiPlan — 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
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $12.52 ↓ -79%
SoundPath Medicare|All Plans $12.52 ↓ -79%
BCBS - Regence Medicare|All Plans $12.52 ↓ -79%
Optum Medicare|All Plans $12.65 ↓ -78%
BCBS - Premera Medicare|All Plans $12.90 ↓ -78%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $12.90 ↓ -78%
BCBS - Regence Commercial|All Plans $13.15 ↓ -77%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|LifeWise Primary Exchange $13.31 ↓ -77%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $13.40 ↓ -77%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $13.52 ↓ -77%
United Medicare|All Plans $13.52 ↓ -77%
Amerigroup Medicare|All Plans $13.65 ↓ -77%
CHPW Medicare|All Plans $14.40 ↓ -75%
Seattle Medical Group Medicare|All Plans $14.40 ↓ -75%
United Commercial|Cascade Care $15.02 ↓ -74%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $15.02 ↓ -74%
United Commercial|Navigate $15.02 ↓ -74%
Uniform Medical Plan Commercial|All Plans $18.78 ↓ -68%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|All Other Plans $18.78 ↓ -68%
Cigna Commercial|All Plans $22.71 ↓ -61%
Molina Commercial|Marketplace Exchange $24.04 ↓ -59%
Coordinated Care Commercial|Ambetter Exchange $24.79 ↓ -57%
Sound Family Medicine Commercial|All Plans $25.04 ↓ -57%
Aetna Commercial|AWH $46.82 ↓ -20%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $55.09 ↓ -6%
First Choice Commercial|All Plans $76.15 ↑ +31%
Aetna Commercial|WEA $92.89 ↑ +59%
Aetna Commercial|Rental $126.72 ↑ +117%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $132.00 ↑ +126%

Visitor-reported prices

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Culture typing glc/hplc at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MultiCare Mary Bridge Children's Hospital Tacoma not published $5.09 – $18.08
MultiCare Allenmore Hospital Tacoma not published $5.12 – $24.54
Providence St Joseph Hospital Chewelah $37.80 not published
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $111.30 $12.52 – $45.07
Central Medical Center Seattle $56.80 $10.00 – $10.00
Providence Mount Carmel Hospital Colville $44.80 not published
Providence Holy Family Hospital Spokane $202.30 $12.52 – $53.44
St. Michael Medical Center Silverdale $77.68 $12.52 – $158.40

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →