Lev 4 hosp type b ed visit 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

$990.32

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.

$2,990.10

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.

$323.65 with SoundPath vs $2,242.58 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
SoundPath Medicare|All Plans $323.65 ↓ -67%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $323.65 ↓ -67%
Optum Medicare|All Plans $326.89 ↓ -67%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $333.36 ↓ -66%
BCBS - Regence Medicare|All Plans $333.36 ↓ -66%
BCBS - Premera Medicare|All Plans $333.36 ↓ -66%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $346.31 ↓ -65%
United Medicare|All Plans $349.54 ↓ -65%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $349.54 ↓ -65%
Seattle Medical Group Medicare|All Plans $350.57 ↓ -65%
Amerigroup Medicare|All Plans $352.78 ↓ -64%
CHPW Medicare|All Plans $372.20 ↓ -62%
Molina Commercial|Marketplace Exchange $621.41 ↓ -37%
Coordinated Care Commercial|Ambetter Exchange $640.83 ↓ -35%
Sound Family Medicine Commercial|All Plans $647.30 ↓ -35%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|LifeWise Primary Exchange $681.89 ↓ -31%
Uniform Medical Plan Commercial|All Plans $728.00 ↓ -26%
Kaiser Commercial|HMO $761.09 ↓ -23%
BCBS - Regence Commercial|All Plans $834.77 ↓ -16%
Kaiser Commercial|PPO $837.26 ↓ -15%
First Choice Commercial|All Plans $907.06 ↓ -8%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|All Other Plans $985.73 ↓ -0%
United Commercial|Navigate $1,021.28 ↑ +3%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $1,075.04 ↑ +9%
United Commercial|Cascade Care $1,075.04 ↑ +9%
Aetna Commercial|AWH $1,210.45 ↑ +22%
Cigna Commercial|All Plans $1,315.65 ↑ +33%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $1,424.06 ↑ +44%
Aetna Commercial|Rental $2,152.88 ↑ +117%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $2,242.58 ↑ +126%

Visitor-reported prices

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Lev 4 hosp type b ed visit at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MultiCare Mary Bridge Children's Hospital Tacoma not published $311.36 – $2,200.00
MultiCare Allenmore Hospital Tacoma not published $302.29 – $1,295.10
Providence St Joseph Hospital Chewelah $465.50 not published
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $638.40 $294.53 – $749.57
Providence St Mary Medical Center Walla Walla $775.60 $261.01 – $544.88
Kadlec Regional Medical Center Richland $731.50 $294.53 – $793.50
Providence Holy Family Hospital Spokane $694.40 $294.53 – $773.13
St. Michael Medical Center Silverdale $1,319.68 $1,318.32 – $2,691.09

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →