Lactate dehydrogenase (ldh) 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

$31.97

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.

$96.51

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.

$6.04 with Kaiser vs $72.39 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 $6.04 ↓ -81%
SoundPath Medicare|All Plans $6.04 ↓ -81%
BCBS - Regence Medicare|All Plans $6.04 ↓ -81%
Optum Medicare|All Plans $6.10 ↓ -81%
BCBS - Premera Medicare|All Plans $6.22 ↓ -81%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $6.22 ↓ -81%
BCBS - Regence Commercial|All Plans $6.34 ↓ -80%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|LifeWise Primary Exchange $6.42 ↓ -80%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $6.46 ↓ -80%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $6.52 ↓ -80%
United Medicare|All Plans $6.52 ↓ -80%
Amerigroup Medicare|All Plans $6.58 ↓ -79%
CHPW Medicare|All Plans $6.95 ↓ -78%
Seattle Medical Group Medicare|All Plans $6.95 ↓ -78%
United Commercial|Cascade Care $7.25 ↓ -77%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $7.25 ↓ -77%
United Commercial|Navigate $7.25 ↓ -77%
Uniform Medical Plan Commercial|All Plans $9.06 ↓ -72%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|All Other Plans $9.06 ↓ -72%
Cigna Commercial|All Plans $10.94 ↓ -66%
Molina Commercial|Marketplace Exchange $11.60 ↓ -64%
Coordinated Care Commercial|Ambetter Exchange $11.96 ↓ -63%
Sound Family Medicine Commercial|All Plans $12.08 ↓ -62%
Aetna Commercial|AWH $22.59 ↓ -29%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $26.58 ↓ -17%
First Choice Commercial|All Plans $36.68 ↑ +15%
Aetna Commercial|WEA $44.73 ↑ +40%
Aetna Commercial|Rental $69.49 ↑ +117%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $72.39 ↑ +126%

Visitor-reported prices

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Lactate dehydrogenase (ldh) at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MultiCare Mary Bridge Children's Hospital Tacoma $15.20 $3.45 – $12.25
MultiCare Allenmore Hospital Tacoma $15.20 $3.47 – $11.84
Providence St Luke's Rehabilitation Medical Center Spokane $83.16 $6.04 – $6.64
Providence St Joseph Hospital Chewelah $170.10 not published
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $43.20 $5.44 – $28.39
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $64.40 $6.04 – $21.74
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $43.20 $5.44 – $27.48
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $43.20 $5.44 – $28.39

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →