Blood test, potassium cost in KS
What a blood test, potassium costs at KS hospitals — and the fair price to aim for.
Typical commercial prices here are +80% above the fair benchmark (1.80×) even after accounting for local nurse/doctor wages and patient complexity.
Balances commercial hospital prices against CMS clinical safety, infection control, and patient experience.
Uniform Value Leader
Greeley County Health Services maintains disciplined commercial pricing across both elective shoppable care (0.9× Medicare) and captive emergency/ancillary departments (0.9× Medicare). Patients and health plans benefit from predictable, below-benchmark rates (0.91× Fair BaseRate) without hidden ancillary cross-subsidization.
Where They're Good (Patient & Payer Edge)
- Elective shoppable care is priced 9% below peer Fair BaseRate (0.91×)
- Self-pay cash beats commercial insurance on 50% of shoppable procedures (99/100 Cash Honesty)
- CMS clinical safety score (68/100 safety score) with 72% patient recommendation
- IRS 501(c)(3) charity care provides free care up to 200% FPL and discounted care up to 400% FPL (15.1% AGB cap)
Where You Can Get Burned (Markup Traps)
- Outpatient surgery & OR suites carry a 1.1× markup over Medicare rates
- Commercial insurance median sits at 0.91× Fair BaseRate (0.9× Medicare), so insured patients should always compare the self-pay cash price before paying.
- Specialty infusion drugs (J-codes) average 1.1× Medicare — verify per-unit billing on itemized statements
- Unnegotiated chargemaster list prices average 5.9× Medicare (15¢ true HCRIS cost per $1 gross)
Pre-scheduled outpatient procedures where patients can comparison-shop.
Emergency, inpatient DRG, lab, and specialty drug lines billed after admission.
Detects median-gaming when upper-quartile codes spike above the p50 median.
In general, KS hospitals charge below the fair price — a good state to get this done. how we calculate the BaseRate →
Compared with the rest of the country, KS’s fair BaseRate ($10) is above the national fair price of $5.
Cheapest KS hospitals for a blood test, potassium
- Greeley County Health Services · Tribune $4
- Salina Surgical Hospital · Salina $5
- St. Catherine Hospital - Garden City · Garden City $5
- Children's Mercy South · Overland Park $5
- Kansas Surgery & Recovery Center · Wichita $5
- Labette Health · Parsons $5
- Kansas Spine & Specialty Hospital, LLC · Wichita $5
- Wesley Medical Center · Wichita $5
- Mercy Specialty Hospital Southeast Kansas · Galena $5
- Kansas Heart Hospital · Wichita $5
- Kansas Medical Center LLC · Andover $5
- Wamego Health Center · Wamego $5
- Centura St. Catherine-Dodge City · Dodge City $5
- Overland Park Reg Med Ctr · Overland Park $5
- Menorah Medical Center · Overland Park $5
Audit a Bill or Quote at KS Hospital Benchmark (Zero PHI Required)
Statutory 501(r) AGB Cap Limits Bill to $8
At 274% FPL (201%–400% FPL tier), 26 U.S.C. § 501(r)(5) caps FAP-eligible bills at Amounts Generally Billed (36.3% of gross = $8).
Compare Prompt-Pay Cash Rate Against Remaining Deductible
Ask KS Hospital Benchmark's billing desk for their written 45 CFR § 180 discounted self-pay cash price and Good Faith Estimate under the No Surprises Act.
Negotiate Toward $10 Fair BaseRate ($6 Medicare)
Your bill ($22) is $12 above the denoised Fair BaseRate ($10) and 3.7× the $6 Medicare rate.