Immunofixation electrophoresis serum 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

$86.44

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.

$260.99

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.

$22.34 with Kaiser vs $195.75 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 $22.34 ↓ -74%
SoundPath Medicare|All Plans $22.34 ↓ -74%
BCBS - Regence Medicare|All Plans $22.34 ↓ -74%
Optum Medicare|All Plans $22.56 ↓ -74%
BCBS - Premera Medicare|All Plans $23.01 ↓ -73%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $23.01 ↓ -73%
BCBS - Regence Commercial|All Plans $23.46 ↓ -73%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|LifeWise Primary Exchange $23.75 ↓ -73%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $23.90 ↓ -72%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $24.13 ↓ -72%
United Medicare|All Plans $24.13 ↓ -72%
Amerigroup Medicare|All Plans $24.35 ↓ -72%
CHPW Medicare|All Plans $25.69 ↓ -70%
Seattle Medical Group Medicare|All Plans $25.69 ↓ -70%
United Commercial|Cascade Care $26.81 ↓ -69%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $26.81 ↓ -69%
United Commercial|Navigate $26.81 ↓ -69%
Uniform Medical Plan Commercial|All Plans $33.51 ↓ -61%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|All Other Plans $33.51 ↓ -61%
Cigna Commercial|All Plans $40.52 ↓ -53%
Molina Commercial|Marketplace Exchange $42.89 ↓ -50%
Coordinated Care Commercial|Ambetter Exchange $44.23 ↓ -49%
Sound Family Medicine Commercial|All Plans $44.68 ↓ -48%
Aetna Commercial|AWH $83.55 ↓ -3%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $98.30 ↑ +14%
First Choice Commercial|All Plans $135.74 ↑ +57%
Aetna Commercial|WEA $165.64 ↑ +92%
Aetna Commercial|Rental $187.92 ↑ +117%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $195.75 ↑ +126%

Visitor-reported prices

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Immunofixation electrophoresis serum at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MultiCare Mary Bridge Children's Hospital Tacoma $51.60 $7.37 – $26.16
MultiCare Allenmore Hospital Tacoma $51.60 $7.41 – $43.79
Providence St Joseph Hospital Chewelah $140.70 not published
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $117.12 $20.11 – $105.00
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $232.40 $22.34 – $80.42
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $117.12 $20.11 – $101.65
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $117.12 $20.11 – $105.00
Central Medical Center Seattle $164.80 $17.00 – $17.00

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →