Thoracentesis pleural space needle/catheter aspiration with imaging guidance (both sides) at UnityPoint Health - Meriter Hospital
202 South Park Street, Madison, WI · UnityPoint Health · · NPI 1114920048
$4,391.72
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.
$5,489.64
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.
$98.27 with United Healthcare vs $5,215.16 with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Healthcare | Medicare Advantage | $98.27 | ↓ -98% |
| IlliniCare | Medicare Advantage | $98.27 | ↓ -98% |
| Prevea 360 | Medicare Advantage | $98.27 | ↓ -98% |
| Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | Medicare Advantage | $98.27 | ↓ -98% |
| Aspirus | Medicare Advantage | $98.27 | ↓ -98% |
| MeridianCare | Medicare Advantage | $103.18 | ↓ -98% |
| Humana | Medicare Advantage | $103.18 | ↓ -98% |
| Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | Blue Priority/Pathway | $171.97 | ↓ -96% |
| Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | HMO/POS | $204.40 | ↓ -95% |
| Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | PPO | $204.40 | ↓ -95% |
| Wellmark UPH Self-Funded | Commercial | $204.40 | ↓ -95% |
| Health Partners Open Network | Commercial | $223.20 | ↓ -95% |
| United Healthcare | Commercial | $254.03 | ↓ -94% |
| Medical Associates Health Plan | HMO/POS/PPO | $326.26 | ↓ -93% |
| Aspirus | PPO | $1,262.62 | ↓ -71% |
| Cigna | Commercial | $1,646.89 | ↓ -63% |
| Security Health Plan | HMO/POS/SAS | $1,701.79 | ↓ -61% |
| Quartz | HMO | $1,712.77 | ↓ -61% |
| Mercy Care | HMO/POS | $1,822.56 | ↓ -59% |
| Aspirus | HMO/POS | $1,976.27 | ↓ -55% |
| Prevea 360 | Commercial | $4,666.19 | ↑ +6% |
| Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | Traditional | $5,215.16 | ↑ +19% |
| My Choice | Managed Medicaid | not published by hospital | — |
| United Healthcare | Managed Medicaid | not published by hospital | — |
| GHC | HMO | not published by hospital | — |
| GHC - Eau Claire | Managed Medicaid | not published by hospital | — |
| Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield | Managed Medicaid | not published by hospital | — |
| GHC - South Central WI | Managed Medicaid | not published by hospital | — |
| Dean Health Plan | Managed Medicaid | not published by hospital | — |
Visitor-reported prices
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Thoracentesis pleural space needle/catheter aspiration with imaging guidance (both sides) at other Wisconsin hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Madison | Madison | $3,713.60 | $456.99 – $4,198.00 |
| Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Hospital - Milwaukee Campus (Columbia St. Mary's Hospital Milwaukee, Inc.) | Milwaukee | $1,479.76 | $601.86 – $1,324.09 |
| Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Hospital - Ozaukee Campus (Columbia St. Mary's Hospital Milwaukee, Inc.) | Mequon | $1,479.76 | $601.86 – $1,324.09 |
| SSM Health St. Clare Hospital - Baraboo | Baraboo | $1,442.10 | $456.99 – $4,401.00 |
| SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Janesville | Janesville | $2,995.30 | $473.89 – $4,074.00 |
| SSM Health Monroe Hospital | Monroe | $1,526.80 | $609.32 – $4,217.00 |
| SSM Health Ripon Community Hospital | Ripon | $1,724.25 | $2,654.00 – $3,030.00 |
| SSM Health St. Agnes Hospital - Fond du Lac | Fond Du Lac | $1,724.25 | $465.35 – $3,030.00 |