Homovanillic acid (hva) at St. Joseph Medical Center
1717 South J Street, Tacoma, WA · Vmfh · · NPI 1952309098
$46.07
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.
$139.08
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.
$22.41 with Kaiser vs $104.31 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 →
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $22.41 | ↓ -51% |
| SoundPath | Medicare|All Plans | $22.41 | ↓ -51% |
| BCBS - Regence | Medicare|All Plans | $22.41 | ↓ -51% |
| Optum | Medicare|All Plans | $22.63 | ↓ -51% |
| BCBS - Premera | Medicare|All Plans | $23.08 | ↓ -50% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $23.08 | ↓ -50% |
| BCBS - Regence | Commercial|All Plans | $23.53 | ↓ -49% |
| BCBS - Premera | Commercial|LifeWise Primary Exchange | $23.82 | ↓ -48% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $23.98 | ↓ -48% |
| Molina | Medicare|All Plans | $24.20 | ↓ -47% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $24.20 | ↓ -47% |
| Amerigroup | Medicare|All Plans | $24.43 | ↓ -47% |
| CHPW | Medicare|All Plans | $25.77 | ↓ -44% |
| Seattle Medical Group | Medicare|All Plans | $25.77 | ↓ -44% |
| United | Commercial|Cascade Care | $26.89 | ↓ -42% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $26.89 | ↓ -42% |
| United | Commercial|Navigate | $26.89 | ↓ -42% |
| Uniform Medical Plan | Commercial|All Plans | $33.62 | ↓ -27% |
| BCBS - Premera | Commercial|All Other Plans | $33.62 | ↓ -27% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Plans | $35.10 | ↓ -24% |
| First Choice | Commercial|All Plans | $42.48 | ↓ -8% |
| Molina | Commercial|Marketplace Exchange | $43.03 | ↓ -7% |
| Coordinated Care | Commercial|Ambetter Exchange | $44.37 | ↓ -4% |
| Sound Family Medicine | Commercial|All Plans | $44.82 | ↓ -3% |
| Aetna | Commercial|WEA | $51.81 | ↑ +12% |
| Aetna | Commercial|AWH | $83.81 | ↑ +82% |
| Aetna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $98.60 | ↑ +114% |
| Aetna | Commercial|Rental | $100.14 | ↑ +117% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $104.31 | ↑ +126% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Homovanillic acid (hva) at other Washington hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| MultiCare Mary Bridge Children's Hospital | Tacoma | $26.00 | $8.89 – $31.56 |
| MultiCare Allenmore Hospital | Tacoma | $26.00 | $8.93 – $43.92 |
| Providence St Joseph Hospital | Chewelah | $67.90 | not published |
| Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus | Seattle | $50.88 | $20.17 – $105.33 |
| Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital | Spokane | $111.30 | $22.41 – $80.68 |
| Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill | Seattle | $50.88 | $20.17 – $101.97 |
| Swedish Issaquah | Issaquah | $50.88 | $20.17 – $105.33 |
| Central Medical Center | Seattle | $100.80 | $17.00 – $17.00 |