Remove renal tube w/fluoro 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

$389.20

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.

$1,175.12

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.

$756.54 with SoundPath vs $4,556.00 with Cigna — 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 $756.54 ↑ +94%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $756.54 ↑ +94%
Optum Medicare|All Plans $764.11 ↑ +96%
BCBS - Regence Medicare|All Plans $779.24 ↑ +100%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $779.24 ↑ +100%
BCBS - Premera Medicare|All Plans $779.24 ↑ +100%
Seattle Medical Group Medicare|All Plans $783.74 ↑ +101%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $809.50 ↑ +108%
United Medicare|All Plans $817.06 ↑ +110%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $817.06 ↑ +110%
Amerigroup Medicare|All Plans $824.63 ↑ +112%
Aetna Commercial|Rental $846.09 ↑ +117%
CHPW Medicare|All Plans $870.02 ↑ +124%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $881.34 ↑ +126%
Molina Commercial|Marketplace Exchange $1,452.56 ↑ +273%
Coordinated Care Commercial|Ambetter Exchange $1,497.95 ↑ +285%
Sound Family Medicine Commercial|All Plans $1,513.08 ↑ +289%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|LifeWise Primary Exchange $1,581.30 ↑ +306%
Uniform Medical Plan Commercial|All Plans $1,688.27 ↑ +334%
Kaiser Commercial|HMO $1,701.49 ↑ +337%
Kaiser Commercial|PPO $1,871.77 ↑ +381%
BCBS - Regence Commercial|All Plans $1,935.85 ↑ +397%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|All Other Plans $2,285.91 ↑ +487%
United Commercial|Navigate $2,387.24 ↑ +513%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $2,512.92 ↑ +546%
United Commercial|Cascade Care $2,512.92 ↑ +546%
First Choice Commercial|All Plans $2,572.52 ↑ +561%
Aetna Commercial|AWH $2,829.46 ↑ +627%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $3,328.78 ↑ +755%
Cigna Commercial|All Plans $4,556.00 ↑ +1071%

Visitor-reported prices

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Remove renal tube w/fluoro at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MultiCare Mary Bridge Children's Hospital Tacoma $356.00 $268.52 – $4,918.30
MultiCare Allenmore Hospital Tacoma $356.00 $269.86 – $3,347.17
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $1,988.16 $807.46 – $2,615.69
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $1,503.60 $777.03 – $1,977.54
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $1,988.16 $807.46 – $2,532.21
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $1,988.16 $809.73 – $2,615.69
Providence St Mary Medical Center Walla Walla $1,400.70 $605.30 – $2,526.65
Kadlec Regional Medical Center Richland $1,338.40 $88.35 – $2,064.73

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →