MRA chest w IV cont 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

$1,543.67

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.

$4,660.86

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.

$404.79 with SoundPath vs $3,495.65 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 $404.79 ↓ -74%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $404.79 ↓ -74%
Optum Medicare|All Plans $408.84 ↓ -74%
BCBS - Regence Medicare|All Plans $416.93 ↓ -73%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $416.93 ↓ -73%
BCBS - Premera Medicare|All Plans $416.93 ↓ -73%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $433.13 ↓ -72%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $437.17 ↓ -72%
United Medicare|All Plans $437.17 ↓ -72%
Amerigroup Medicare|All Plans $441.22 ↓ -71%
Seattle Medical Group Medicare|All Plans $461.75 ↓ -70%
CHPW Medicare|All Plans $465.51 ↓ -70%
Cigna Commercial|All Plans $564.47 ↓ -63%
Molina Commercial|Marketplace Exchange $777.20 ↓ -50%
Coordinated Care Commercial|Ambetter Exchange $801.48 ↓ -48%
Sound Family Medicine Commercial|All Plans $809.58 ↓ -48%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|LifeWise Primary Exchange $890.24 ↓ -42%
Uniform Medical Plan Commercial|All Plans $950.46 ↓ -38%
Kaiser Commercial|HMO $1,002.46 ↓ -35%
BCBS - Regence Commercial|All Plans $1,089.84 ↓ -29%
Kaiser Commercial|PPO $1,102.78 ↓ -29%
United Commercial|Navigate $1,277.31 ↓ -17%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|All Other Plans $1,286.92 ↓ -17%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $1,344.55 ↓ -13%
United Commercial|Cascade Care $1,344.55 ↓ -13%
Aetna Commercial|AWH $1,513.91 ↓ -2%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $1,781.08 ↑ +15%
First Choice Commercial|All Plans $2,257.66 ↑ +46%
Aetna Commercial|Rental $3,355.82 ↑ +117%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $3,495.65 ↑ +126%

Visitor-reported prices

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MRA chest w IV cont at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MultiCare Mary Bridge Children's Hospital Tacoma not published $352.79 – $2,897.70
MultiCare Allenmore Hospital Tacoma not published $354.56 – $1,705.83
St. Michael Medical Center Silverdale $2,057.07 $1,101.40 – $4,194.78
St. Anne Hospital Burien $1,423.22 $564.47 – $4,194.78
St. Anthony Hospital Gig Harbor $1,417.60 $564.47 – $3,495.65
St. Elizabeth Hospital Enumclaw $1,646.99 $564.47 – $4,194.78
Virginia Mason Medical Center Seattle $747.66 $1,091.29 – $1,091.29
St. Francis Hospital Federal Way $1,462.69 $564.47 – $3,495.65

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →