Incision of tongue fold at St. Joseph Medical Center
1717 South J Street, Tacoma, WA · Vmfh · · NPI 1952309098
$707.61
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.
$2,136.49
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.
$1,538.28 with Aetna vs $7,387.34 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 | $1,538.28 | ↑ +117% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $1,602.37 | ↑ +126% |
| SoundPath | Medicare|All Plans | $1,678.94 | ↑ +137% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $1,678.94 | ↑ +137% |
| Optum | Medicare|All Plans | $1,695.73 | ↑ +140% |
| BCBS - Premera | Medicare|All Plans | $1,729.31 | ↑ +144% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $1,729.31 | ↑ +144% |
| BCBS - Regence | Medicare|All Plans | $1,729.31 | ↑ +144% |
| Seattle Medical Group | Medicare|All Plans | $1,739.74 | ↑ +146% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $1,796.47 | ↑ +154% |
| Molina | Medicare|All Plans | $1,813.26 | ↑ +156% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $1,813.26 | ↑ +156% |
| Amerigroup | Medicare|All Plans | $1,830.04 | ↑ +159% |
| CHPW | Medicare|All Plans | $1,930.78 | ↑ +173% |
| First Choice | Commercial|All Plans | $2,833.86 | ↑ +300% |
| Molina | Commercial|Marketplace Exchange | $3,223.56 | ↑ +356% |
| Coordinated Care | Commercial|Ambetter Exchange | $3,324.30 | ↑ +370% |
| Sound Family Medicine | Commercial|All Plans | $3,357.88 | ↑ +375% |
| BCBS - Premera | Commercial|LifeWise Primary Exchange | $3,530.27 | ↑ +399% |
| Uniform Medical Plan | Commercial|All Plans | $3,769.07 | ↑ +433% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|HMO | $3,776.99 | ↑ +434% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|PPO | $4,154.98 | ↑ +487% |
| BCBS - Regence | Commercial|All Plans | $4,321.81 | ↑ +511% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Plans | $4,556.00 | ↑ +544% |
| BCBS - Premera | Commercial|All Other Plans | $5,103.35 | ↑ +621% |
| United | Commercial|Navigate | $5,297.93 | ↑ +649% |
| United | Commercial|Cascade Care | $5,576.85 | ↑ +688% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $5,576.85 | ↑ +688% |
| Aetna | Commercial|AWH | $6,279.24 | ↑ +787% |
| Aetna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $7,387.34 | ↑ +944% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Incision of tongue fold at other Washington hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| MultiCare Mary Bridge Children's Hospital | Tacoma | $1,599.60 | $649.17 – $10,917.72 |
| MultiCare Allenmore Hospital | Tacoma | $1,599.60 | $652.42 – $7,447.96 |
| Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus | Seattle | $1,344.48 | $1,796.72 – $6,571.29 |
| Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital | Spokane | $3,624.60 | $1,729.00 – $4,400.30 |
| Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill | Seattle | $1,344.48 | $1,796.72 – $6,328.40 |
| Swedish Issaquah | Issaquah | $1,344.48 | $1,801.76 – $6,571.29 |
| Providence Centralia Hospital | Centralia | $3,174.60 | $1,796.72 – $7,893.64 |
| Providence Mount Carmel Hospital | Colville | $2,235.10 | not published |