Fracture assessment via dxa 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

$185.87

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.

$561.18

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.

$99.80 with SoundPath vs $439.12 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 →

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 $99.80 ↓ -46%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $99.80 ↓ -46%
Optum Medicare|All Plans $100.80 ↓ -46%
BCBS - Regence Medicare|All Plans $102.79 ↓ -45%
BCBS - Premera Medicare|All Plans $102.79 ↓ -45%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $102.79 ↓ -45%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $106.79 ↓ -43%
United Medicare|All Plans $107.78 ↓ -42%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $107.78 ↓ -42%
Amerigroup Medicare|All Plans $108.78 ↓ -41%
Seattle Medical Group Medicare|All Plans $108.88 ↓ -41%
CHPW Medicare|All Plans $114.77 ↓ -38%
Cigna Commercial|All Plans $127.23 ↓ -32%
Molina Commercial|Marketplace Exchange $191.62 ↑ +3%
Coordinated Care Commercial|Ambetter Exchange $197.60 ↑ +6%
Sound Family Medicine Commercial|All Plans $199.60 ↑ +7%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|LifeWise Primary Exchange $210.35 ↑ +13%
Uniform Medical Plan Commercial|All Plans $224.58 ↑ +21%
Kaiser Commercial|HMO $236.39 ↑ +27%
BCBS - Regence Commercial|All Plans $257.51 ↑ +39%
Kaiser Commercial|PPO $260.05 ↑ +40%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|All Other Plans $304.08 ↑ +64%
United Commercial|Navigate $314.90 ↑ +69%
United Commercial|Cascade Care $331.48 ↑ +78%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $331.48 ↑ +78%
Aetna Commercial|AWH $373.25 ↑ +101%
Aetna Commercial|Rental $404.05 ↑ +117%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $420.89 ↑ +126%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $439.12 ↑ +136%

Visitor-reported prices

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Fracture assessment via dxa at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MultiCare Mary Bridge Children's Hospital Tacoma $241.60 $56.08 – $683.31
MultiCare Allenmore Hospital Tacoma $241.60 $56.37 – $417.74
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $237.12 $100.77 – $375.11
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $237.12 $100.77 – $363.14
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $237.12 $101.06 – $375.11
Central Medical Center Seattle $304.00 $89.00 – $89.00
Providence St Mary Medical Center Walla Walla $392.70 $80.52 – $179.41
Kadlec Regional Medical Center Richland $597.10 $55.65 – $312.06

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →