CMS Price Transparency Data

Blood transfusion

Facility: Essentia Health Sandstone

Billing Code: 36430 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price low confidence

A fair price for this

$450

about 1.0× the $451 Medicare rate · typically $70–$881

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$428

About the fair price

about $22 under the fair price · 0.9× Medicare

Medicare pays $451 Fair price $450 This hospital $428 Cash price $840 Hospital's list price $1,136

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other MN hospitals

Highest price of the 9 MN hospitals we have prices for — worth calling around.

Cheapest $75 Priciest $428

Black dot = this hospital, among the 9 MN hospitals with a price for this procedure. Full list below.

A fair price for a Blood transfusion is about $450 (about 1.0× the $451 Medicare rate). Essentia Health Sandstone charges insurers about $428, or about $840 in cash — about the fair price. Located in Sandstone, MN.

What each insurance company pays

Which insurers have negotiated a price with this hospital for this procedure — and which haven’t.

4 of 6 major insurers have a published price at this hospital

✓ UnitedHealthcare✓ Blue Cross Blue Shield✓ Aetna✓ Cigna HumanaKaiser Permanente

Crossed out = this hospital hasn’t published a negotiated price for that insurer for this procedure. It doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t accepted — ask your insurer.

Insurance company	Price range	vs. Medicare
UnitedHealthcaremajor	$534 - $1,034	118%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$436 - $912	97%
Aetnamajor	$966	214%
Cignamajor	$886 - $905	197%
HealthPartners	$457 - $905	101%
Medica	$452 - $930	100%
Sanford Health Plan	$487 - $513	108%
Security Health Plan	$534 - $1,136	118%
UCare	$534 - $747	118%
+ 12 smaller / regional plans	$419 - $875

Government programs also on file: Medicare.

Excludes 2 rental-network / third-party entries (e.g. Multiplan, PHCS) — these are pricing networks, not insurers.

Self-Pay How to get the cash price

Tell the billing desk you want to be billed as self-pay — not through insurance — before your visit.
Ask for the cash / prompt-pay discount in writing, with the exact price (about 840), before you agree to anything.
Get it in writing that they won’t also bill your insurance, so the cash price is what you owe.
Check the CPT code on your bill matches exactly: 36430.

Insurance Before you use insurance

Call your insurance company to confirm Essentia Health Sandstone is in-network.
Ask your insurer whether prior approval is required for CPT code 36430.
Confirm the doctor or provider is in-network too — not just the hospital building.
Check your Explanation of Benefits against the hospital’s final itemized bill.

Estimate your out-of-pocket cost

A rough estimate of what you’d pay with insurance (deductible + coinsurance) versus paying the cash price yourself.

How you’d pay

Deductible left to meet ($)

Your coinsurance (%)

Enter your details and press estimate to compare.

Other Procedures at Essentia Health Sandstone

Compare: Blood transfusion at other MN hospitals

Insurance negotiated median for the same procedure, sorted lowest first.