Ins mark abd/pel for right perq 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

$1,380.18

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.

$4,167.24

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.

$1,550.84 with SoundPath vs $6,823.70 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 $1,550.84 ↑ +12%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $1,550.84 ↑ +12%
Optum Medicare|All Plans $1,566.35 ↑ +13%
BCBS - Regence Medicare|All Plans $1,597.37 ↑ +16%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $1,597.37 ↑ +16%
BCBS - Premera Medicare|All Plans $1,597.37 ↑ +16%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $1,659.40 ↑ +20%
United Medicare|All Plans $1,674.91 ↑ +21%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $1,674.91 ↑ +21%
Seattle Medical Group Medicare|All Plans $1,680.25 ↑ +22%
Amerigroup Medicare|All Plans $1,690.42 ↑ +22%
CHPW Medicare|All Plans $1,783.47 ↑ +29%
Molina Commercial|Marketplace Exchange $2,977.61 ↑ +116%
Aetna Commercial|Rental $3,000.42 ↑ +117%
Coordinated Care Commercial|Ambetter Exchange $3,070.66 ↑ +122%
Sound Family Medicine Commercial|All Plans $3,101.68 ↑ +125%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $3,125.43 ↑ +126%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|LifeWise Primary Exchange $3,207.53 ↑ +132%
First Choice Commercial|All Plans $3,299.22 ↑ +139%
Uniform Medical Plan Commercial|All Plans $3,424.49 ↑ +148%
Kaiser Commercial|HMO $3,647.83 ↑ +164%
BCBS - Regence Commercial|All Plans $3,926.70 ↑ +185%
Kaiser Commercial|PPO $4,012.89 ↑ +191%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|All Other Plans $4,636.80 ↑ +236%
United Commercial|Navigate $4,893.70 ↑ +255%
United Commercial|Cascade Care $5,151.34 ↑ +273%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $5,151.34 ↑ +273%
Aetna Commercial|AWH $5,800.14 ↑ +320%
Cigna Commercial|All Plans $5,920.00 ↑ +329%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $6,823.70 ↑ +394%

Visitor-reported prices

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Ins mark abd/pel for right perq at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MultiCare Mary Bridge Children's Hospital Tacoma $1,809.20 $1,237.30 – $10,544.37
MultiCare Allenmore Hospital Tacoma $1,809.20 $1,243.49 – $6,644.13
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $5,800.32 $1,602.81 – $5,853.10
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $3,893.40 $1,542.40 – $4,483.22
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $5,800.32 $1,602.81 – $5,666.30
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $5,800.32 $1,607.31 – $5,853.10
Providence St Mary Medical Center Walla Walla $783.30 $1,227.80 – $2,853.44
Kadlec Regional Medical Center Richland $3,364.90 $354.11 – $4,869.28

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →