Esophagoscop stent placement 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.

Full explanation →

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.

Full explanation →

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

$167.26 with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield vs $558.65 with Wellmark UPH Self-Funded — 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
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Medicare Advantage $167.26
IlliniCare Medicare Advantage $167.26
United Healthcare Medicare Advantage $167.26
Aspirus Medicare Advantage $167.26
Prevea 360 Medicare Advantage $167.26
Humana Medicare Advantage $175.62
MeridianCare Medicare Advantage $175.62
Health Partners Open Network Commercial $389.11
United Healthcare Commercial $418.01
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Blue Priority/Pathway $511.82
Medical Associates Health Plan HMO/POS/PPO $555.30
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield HMO/POS $558.65
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield PPO $558.65
Wellmark UPH Self-Funded Commercial $558.65

Visitor-reported prices

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Esophagoscop stent placement at other Wisconsin hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Madison Madison $5,064.95 $4,422.65 – $13,962.00
Midwest Orthopedic Specialty Hospital Franklin $4,181.70 $722.43 – $722.43
Ascension St. Francis Hospital, Inc. Milwaukee $4,181.70 $722.43 – $722.43
Ascension SE Wisconsin Hospital - St. Joseph Campus Milwaukee $4,181.70 $722.43 – $722.43
Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Hospital - Milwaukee Campus (Columbia St. Mary's Hospital Milwaukee, Inc.) Milwaukee not published $293.93 – $743.21
Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Hospital - Ozaukee Campus (Columbia St. Mary's Hospital Milwaukee, Inc.) Mequon not published $293.93 – $743.21
Orthopaedic Hospital of Wisconsin, LLC Glendale not published $1,104.00 – $16,897.00
SSM Health St. Clare Hospital - Baraboo Baraboo not published $4,422.65 – $11,044.00

All Wisconsin hospitals for this procedure →