Cell marker study at SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Madison

700 South Park St, Madison, WI · SSM Health · · NPI 1902290034

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Apr 1, 2026 · Ingested Sep 10, 2026

$305.25

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.

$555.00

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.

$37.96 with Molina vs $463.08 with BCBS — 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
Molina Medicare Managed Care Plan $37.96 ↓ -88%
Dean Health Plan Medicare Managed Care Plan $50.62 ↓ -83%
BCBS Blue Preferred/Blue Preferred Plus HMO/POS $430.58 ↑ +41%
BCBS Blue Access PPO $463.08 ↑ +52%
BCBS Anthem Blue Traditional Traditional $463.08 ↑ +52%

Visitor-reported prices

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Cell marker study at other Wisconsin hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UnityPoint Health - Meriter Hospital Madison not published $34.92 – $101.27
Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Hospital - Milwaukee Campus (Columbia St. Mary's Hospital Milwaukee, Inc.) Milwaukee $125.61 $51.17 – $135.31
Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Hospital - Ozaukee Campus (Columbia St. Mary's Hospital Milwaukee, Inc.) Mequon $125.61 $51.17 – $135.31
SSM Health St. Clare Hospital - Baraboo Baraboo $682.55 $37.96 – $526.24
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Janesville Janesville $626.45 $39.37 – $420.99
SSM Health Monroe Hospital Monroe $148.50 $50.62 – $123.12
SSM Health Ripon Community Hospital Ripon $124.85 $49.47 – $107.12
SSM Health St. Agnes Hospital - Fond du Lac Fond Du Lac $124.85 $38.66 – $99.48

All Wisconsin hospitals for this procedure →