Contact lens fitting ou at UnityPoint Health - Meriter Hospital

202 South Park Street, Madison, WI · UnityPoint Health · · NPI 1114920048

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Jan 28, 2026 · Ingested Aug 12, 2026

not published by hospital

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.

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

not published by hospital

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.

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

$109.34 with Health Partners Open Network vs $134.66 with United Healthcare — 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.

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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
Health Partners Open Network Commercial $109.34
United Healthcare Commercial $134.66

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
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Contact lens fitting ou at other Wisconsin hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Hospital - Milwaukee Campus (Columbia St. Mary's Hospital Milwaukee, Inc.) Milwaukee not published $309.01 – $362.86
Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Hospital - Ozaukee Campus (Columbia St. Mary's Hospital Milwaukee, Inc.) Mequon not published $309.01 – $362.86
Midwest Orthopedic Specialty Hospital Franklin not published $318.38 – $318.38
Ascension NE Wisconsin - Mercy Campus (Ascension NE Wisconsin, Inc.) Oshkosh not published $60.54 – $331.48
Ascension St. Francis Hospital, Inc. Milwaukee not published $318.38 – $318.38
Ascension SE Wisconsin Hospital - St. Joseph Campus Milwaukee not published $318.38 – $318.38
Ascension NE Wisconsin - St. Elizabeth Campus (Ascension NE Wisconsin, Inc.) Appleton not published $60.54 – $331.48
Ascension Calumet Hospital, Inc. Chilton not published $60.54 – $331.48

All Wisconsin hospitals for this procedure →