Colorectal cancer screening cost in MN
What a colorectal cancer screening costs at MN hospitals — and the fair price to aim for.
Typical commercial prices here are 6% below the fair benchmark (0.94×) 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
Lakewood Health System maintains disciplined commercial pricing across both elective shoppable care (0.8× Medicare) and captive emergency/ancillary departments (0.5× Medicare). Patients and health plans benefit from predictable, below-benchmark rates (0.62× Fair BaseRate) without hidden ancillary cross-subsidization.
Where They're Good (Patient & Payer Edge)
- Elective shoppable care is priced 38% below peer Fair BaseRate (0.62×)
- Self-pay cash beats commercial insurance on 41% of shoppable procedures (99/100 Cash Honesty)
- 4-Star CMS clinical rating with 77% patient recommendation (74/100 safety score)
- IRS 501(c)(3) charity care provides free care up to 200% FPL and discounted care up to 400% FPL (46.6% AGB cap)
Where You Can Get Burned (Markup Traps)
- Even at low-cost facilities (0.94× Fair BaseRate), out-of-network or unnegotiated chargemaster bills can exceed commercial medians — confirm in-network status or request a self-pay cash quote up front.
- Commercial insurance median sits at 0.43× Fair BaseRate (0.8× Medicare), so insured patients should always compare the self-pay cash price before paying.
- Upper-quartile procedures (Q75 1.04×) jump +142% above the median procedure ratio (Q50 0.43×)
- Unnegotiated chargemaster list prices average 5.5× Medicare (25¢ 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, MN hospitals charge about the fair price for this. how we calculate the BaseRate →
Compared with the rest of the country, MN’s fair BaseRate ($46) is about the same as the national fair price of $50.
Cheapest MN hospitals for a colorectal cancer screening
- Lakewood Health System · Staples $22
- Welia Health · Mora $26
- Meeker Memorial Hospital · Litchfield $30
- Madison Hospital · Madison $31
- Chippewa County Hospital · Montevideo $32
- Gillette Childrens Specialty Hospital · Saint Paul $37
- Essentia Health Virginia · Virginia $45
- Essentia Health Fosston · Fosston $46
- Essentia Health Ada · Ada $46
- Essentia Health Sandstone · Sandstone $46
- Essentia Health Holy Trinity Hospital · Graceville $46
- Essentia Health Northern Pines Medical Center · Aurora $46
- Essentia Health Moose Lake · Moose Lake $46
- Essentia Health Deer River · Deer River $46
- Essentia Health St Mary's Medical Center · Duluth $46
Audit a Bill or Quote at MN Hospital Benchmark (Zero PHI Required)
Statutory 501(r) AGB Cap Limits Bill to $40
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 = $40).
Compare Prompt-Pay Cash Rate Against Remaining Deductible
Ask MN 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 $46 Fair BaseRate ($27 Medicare)
Your bill ($110) is $64 above the denoised Fair BaseRate ($46) and 4.1× the $27 Medicare rate.