X-ray, foot

For the X-ray of the foot (CPT 73630) at Satanta District Hospital, the cash median price is $199.00, which is notably higher than the facility's negotiated rate of $158.00. This pricing structure is typical for Critical Access Hospitals in Kansas, where commercial insurance contracts often result in higher allowed amounts than self-pay options due to administrative overhead and multi-layered billing structures. While the facility's gross charge is $221.00, patients with high-deductible plans may find it financially advantageous to pay the cash price directly, as the insurance negotiated rate of $158.00 exceeds the cash rate. To minimize costs, patients should explicitly request "self-pay" or "prompt-pay" discounts before scheduling, as these upfront payment incentives can bypass the costly insurance claims cycle and reduce the final bill by 20% to 50%.

When evaluating this service, it is important to compare rates against the Medicare benchmark rather than the hospital's inflated chargemaster list. The Medicare amount for this procedure is $88.91, and the facility's negotiated rate of $158.00 represents a markup of 1.8 times the Medicare rate. Commercial insurance carriers typically pay rates between 200% and 300% of the Medicare baseline, whereas fair pricing is generally defined as 120% to 150% of the Medicare amount. Consumers should be aware that while the facility is in-network for many payers, the specific allowed amount varies significantly by plan, ranging from $44 to $231 across 38 different insurance carriers. To