CMS Price Transparency Data

Blood test, magnesium

Facility: Merit Health River Oaks

Billing Code: 83735 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

about 1.0× the $7 Medicare rate · typically $6–$8

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

Medicare pays $7 Fair price $7

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

Insurer prices not shown for this procedure

This hospital’s published rates for this billing code don’t look like a per-visit price — they appear to be a full-stay total filed under an hourly code — so we’re not showing a per-insurer breakdown we can’t stand behind. The fair price above is your best reference; call the hospital’s billing office to confirm the actual charge.

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, 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: 83735.

Insurance Before you use insurance

Call your insurance company to confirm Merit Health River Oaks is in-network.
Ask your insurer whether prior approval is required for CPT code 83735.
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.

Other Procedures at Merit Health River Oaks

Compare: Blood test, magnesium at other MS hospitals

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