Surgical pathology level 6 gross & microscopic examination at St. Joseph Medical Center
1717 South J Street, Tacoma, WA · Vmfh · · NPI 1952309098
$396.64
Cash price 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.
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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
$1,197.58
Gross charge 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.
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The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$199.51 with First Choice vs $4,074.00 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 →
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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 ?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 ?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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Choice | Commercial|All Plans | $199.51 | ↓ -50% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Plans | $373.35 | ↓ -6% |
| Aetna | Commercial|Rental | $862.26 | ↑ +117% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $898.19 | ↑ +126% |
| SoundPath | Medicare|All Plans | $925.91 | ↑ +133% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $925.91 | ↑ +133% |
| Optum | Medicare|All Plans | $935.17 | ↑ +136% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $953.69 | ↑ +140% |
| BCBS - Regence | Medicare|All Plans | $953.69 | ↑ +140% |
| BCBS - Premera | Medicare|All Plans | $953.69 | ↑ +140% |
| Seattle Medical Group | Medicare|All Plans | $973.20 | ↑ +145% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $990.72 | ↑ +150% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $999.98 | ↑ +152% |
| Molina | Medicare|All Plans | $999.98 | ↑ +152% |
| Amerigroup | Medicare|All Plans | $1,009.24 | ↑ +154% |
| CHPW | Medicare|All Plans | $1,064.80 | ↑ +168% |
| Molina | Commercial|Marketplace Exchange | $1,777.75 | ↑ +348% |
| Coordinated Care | Commercial|Ambetter Exchange | $1,833.30 | ↑ +362% |
| Sound Family Medicine | Commercial|All Plans | $1,851.82 | ↑ +367% |
| BCBS - Premera | Commercial|LifeWise Primary Exchange | $1,990.52 | ↑ +402% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|HMO | $2,112.81 | ↑ +433% |
| Uniform Medical Plan | Commercial|All Plans | $2,125.16 | ↑ +436% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|PPO | $2,324.25 | ↑ +486% |
| BCBS - Regence | Commercial|All Plans | $2,436.81 | ↑ +514% |
| BCBS - Premera | Commercial|All Other Plans | $2,877.49 | ↑ +625% |
| United | Commercial|Navigate | $2,921.72 | ↑ +637% |
| United | Commercial|Cascade Care | $3,075.54 | ↑ +675% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $3,075.54 | ↑ +675% |
| Aetna | Commercial|AWH | $3,462.90 | ↑ +773% |
| Aetna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $4,074.00 | ↑ +927% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Surgical pathology level 6 gross & microscopic examination at other Washington hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| MultiCare Mary Bridge Children's Hospital | Tacoma | $518.00 | $28.56 – $6,107.25 |
| MultiCare Allenmore Hospital | Tacoma | $518.00 | $28.70 – $3,867.44 |
| Providence St Joseph Hospital | Chewelah | $310.10 | not published |
| Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus | Seattle | $319.20 | $561.90 – $2,952.54 |
| Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital | Spokane | $1,276.80 | $618.09 – $2,284.91 |
| Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill | Seattle | $319.20 | $561.90 – $2,858.31 |
| Swedish Issaquah | Issaquah | $319.20 | $561.90 – $2,952.54 |
| Central Medical Center | Seattle | $1,939.20 | $2,020.00 – $2,020.00 |