Warde 3400652 smear complex special stain ova/parasites 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

$40.70

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.

Full explanation →

What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$74.00

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.

Full explanation →

The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$13.48 with Molina vs $157.24 with BCBS — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
?

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
Molina Medicare Managed Care Plan $13.48 ↓ -67%
Dean Health Plan Medicare Managed Care Plan $17.98 ↓ -56%
Centivo Broad(WI2) Other Commercial Plan $22.48 ↓ -45%
The Alliance All Commercial Plans $31.47 ↓ -23%
BCBS Blue Preferred/Blue Preferred Plus HMO/POS $146.23 ↑ +259%
BCBS Blue Access PPO $157.24 ↑ +286%
BCBS Anthem Blue Traditional Traditional $157.24 ↑ +286%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Warde 3400652 smear complex special stain ova/parasites at other Wisconsin hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UnityPoint Health - Meriter Hospital Madison $135.63 $7.36 – $52.89
Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Hospital - Milwaukee Campus (Columbia St. Mary's Hospital Milwaukee, Inc.) Milwaukee $112.36 $17.98 – $77.95
Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Hospital - Ozaukee Campus (Columbia St. Mary's Hospital Milwaukee, Inc.) Mequon $112.36 $17.98 – $77.95
Orthopaedic Hospital of Wisconsin, LLC Glendale $64.66 $17.44 – $32.20
SSM Health St. Clare Hospital - Baraboo Baraboo $47.85 $13.48 – $178.70
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Janesville Janesville $60.50 $13.48 – $142.97
SSM Health Monroe Hospital Monroe $55.00 $17.98 – $31.47
SSM Health Ripon Community Hospital Ripon $160.60 $17.98 – $36.38

All Wisconsin hospitals for this procedure →