Culture body fluid at Ascension St. Francis Hospital, Inc.

3237 S. 16th St, Milwaukee, WI · Ascension · · NPI 1225087190

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

$54.06

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.

$102.00

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.

$8.62 with MEDICARE REPLACEMENT vs $38.95 with WPS — 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
MEDICARE REPLACEMENT 1321_MEDICARE REPLACEMENT INPATIENT 20251001 $8.62 ↓ -84%
VETERANS ADMINISTRATION 1323_VETERAN ADMINISTRATION INPATIENT 20251001 $8.62 ↓ -84%
VETERANS ADMINISTRATION 1208_VETERAN ADMINISTRATION OUTPATIENT 20250101 $8.62 ↓ -84%
MEDICARE REPLACEMENT 1205_MEDICARE REPLACEMENT OUTPATIENT 20250101 $8.62 ↓ -84%
SEHN 1171_SEHN 20241001 $9.05 ↓ -83%
CENTIVO NW3 1255_CENTIVO NW3 20250101 $10.00 ↓ -82%
CENTIVO NW2 1254_CENTIVO NW2 20250101 $10.52 ↓ -81%
CENTIVO NW1 1253_CENTIVO NW1 20250101 $11.03 ↓ -80%
UNITED HEALTH CARE 1282_UNITED HEALTH CARE 20250701 $11.96 ↓ -78%
UNITED BEHAVIORAL HEALTH 605_UNITED HEALTH CARE BEHAVIORAL 20171024 $11.96 ↓ -78%
SMART HEALTH 1317_SMARTHEALTH INPATIENT 20251001 $12.07 ↓ -78%
SMART HEALTH 1206_SMARTHEALTH OUTPATIENT 20250101 $12.07 ↓ -78%
ANTHEM BLUE CONNECTION 1277_ANTHEM BLUE CONNECTION 20250701 $12.07 ↓ -78%
ANTHEM PATHWAYS 1242_ANTHEM PATHWAYS 20250101 $12.24 ↓ -77%
ANTHEM HMO POS 1275_ANTHEM HMO POS 20250701 $13.36 ↓ -75%
NETWORK HEALTH 1289_NETWORK HEALTH PLAN 20250701 $14.26 ↓ -74%
CCHP 1280_CCHP 20250701 $17.71 ↓ -67%
ALLIANCE 1166_ALLIANCE 20241001 $19.96 ↓ -63%
ANTHEM PPO 1276_ANTHEM PPO 20250701 $20.26 ↓ -63%
WPS 1272_WISCONSIN PHYSICIAN SERVICES PPO 20250701 $38.95 ↓ -28%

Visitor-reported prices

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