Low frequency non-thermal Ultrasound 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

$142.01

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.

$428.76

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.

$225.21 with SoundPath vs $990.92 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 $225.21 ↑ +59%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $225.21 ↑ +59%
Seattle Medical Group Medicare|All Plans $226.32 ↑ +59%
Optum Medicare|All Plans $227.46 ↑ +60%
BCBS - Regence Medicare|All Plans $231.97 ↑ +63%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $231.97 ↑ +63%
BCBS - Premera Medicare|All Plans $231.97 ↑ +63%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $240.97 ↑ +70%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $243.23 ↑ +71%
United Medicare|All Plans $243.23 ↑ +71%
Amerigroup Medicare|All Plans $245.48 ↑ +73%
CHPW Medicare|All Plans $258.99 ↑ +82%
Aetna Commercial|Rental $308.71 ↑ +117%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $321.57 ↑ +126%
Molina Commercial|Marketplace Exchange $432.40 ↑ +204%
Coordinated Care Commercial|Ambetter Exchange $445.92 ↑ +214%
Sound Family Medicine Commercial|All Plans $450.42 ↑ +217%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|LifeWise Primary Exchange $463.43 ↑ +226%
Kaiser Commercial|HMO $491.34 ↑ +246%
Uniform Medical Plan Commercial|All Plans $494.79 ↑ +248%
Kaiser Commercial|PPO $540.51 ↑ +281%
BCBS - Regence Commercial|All Plans $567.35 ↑ +300%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|All Other Plans $669.93 ↑ +372%
United Commercial|Navigate $710.68 ↑ +400%
United Commercial|Cascade Care $748.10 ↑ +427%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $748.10 ↑ +427%
Aetna Commercial|AWH $842.29 ↑ +493%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $990.92 ↑ +598%

Visitor-reported prices

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Low frequency non-thermal Ultrasound at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MultiCare Mary Bridge Children's Hospital Tacoma not published $236.35 – $1,420.26
MultiCare Allenmore Hospital Tacoma not published $25.91 – $836.09
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $450.24 $232.33 – $821.23
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $450.24 $232.33 – $795.02
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $450.24 $232.98 – $821.23
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia $297.44 $232.33 – $1,022.17
Providence Regional Medical Center Everett - Colby Campus Everett $260.52 $228.48 – $681.45
St. Michael Medical Center Silverdale $189.24 $270.12 – $851.07

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →