Brain image < 4 views at Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Hospital - Milwaukee Campus (Columbia St. Mary's Hospital Milwaukee, Inc.)

2301 N Lake Dr, Milwaukee, WI · Ascension · · NPI 1871656082

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Jan 1, 2026 · Ingested Sep 8, 2026

not published by hospital

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.

not published by hospital

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.

$33.91 with NETWORK HEALTH PLAN vs $860.57 with MOLINA HEALTH MARKETPLACE — 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
NETWORK HEALTH PLAN 1136_NETWORK HEALTH PLAN 20221001 $33.91
UHC NON OPTIONS PPO 1130_UNITED HEALTH CARE NONOPTIONS 20221001 $58.51
HUMANA PPO 1133_HUMANA PPO 20221001 $58.51
HUMANA HMO POS 1127_HUMANA 20221001 $58.51
HUMANA PREFERRED 1134_HUMANA PREFERRED 20221001 $58.51
ALLIANCE 1066_ALLIANCE 20220101 $73.20
VETERANS ADMINISTRATION 1114_VETERANS ADMINISTRATION INPATIENT 20221001 $391.17
VETERANS ADMINISTRATION 1064_VETERANS ADMINISTRATION OUTPATIENT 20220101 $391.17
MEDICARE REPLACEMENT 1109_MEDICARE REPLACEMENT OUTPATIENT 20220701 $391.17
MEDICARE REPLACEMENT 1116_MEDICARE REPLACEMENT INPATIENT 20221001 $391.17
CCHP MARKETPLACE 1124_CCHP MARKETPLACE 20221001 $848.52
MOLINA HEALTH MARKETPLACE 1060_MOLINA MARKETPLACE OUTPATIENT 20220101 $860.57
MOLINA HEALTH MARKETPLACE 1111_MOLINA MARKETPLACE INPATIENT 20221001 $860.57

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Brain image < 4 views at other Wisconsin hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Ascension St. Francis Hospital, Inc. Milwaukee not published $75.38 – $848.52
Ascension SE Wisconsin Hospital - St. Joseph Campus Milwaukee not published $75.38 – $848.52
Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Hospital - Ozaukee Campus (Columbia St. Mary's Hospital Milwaukee, Inc.) Mequon not published $33.91 – $860.57
UnityPoint Health - Meriter Hospital Madison not published $19.09 – $388.14
SSM Health St. Clare Hospital - Baraboo Baraboo not published $291.23 – $1,824.19
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Janesville Janesville not published $302.00 – $1,309.14
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Madison Madison not published $291.23 – $1,373.53
SSM Health Monroe Hospital Monroe not published $388.31 – $447.99

All Wisconsin hospitals for this procedure →