CMS Price Transparency Data

Culture, blood

Facility: Sanford Medical Center Bismarck

Billing Code: 87040 (CPT)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$13

about 1.3× the $10 Medicare rate · typically $11–$22

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$11

Below the fair price — a good deal

about $2 under the fair price · 1.1× Medicare

Medicare pays $10 Fair price $13 This hospital $11 Cash price $98 Hospital's list price $123

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other ND hospitals

A typical price — 1 charge more and 3 charge less, among the 7 ND hospitals compared.

Cheapest $10 Priciest $21

Black dot = this hospital, among the 7 ND hospitals with a price for this procedure. Full list below.

⚠ The cash price looks unusually high next to the insurance price — it may be the full list price, not a real cash discount. Call to confirm the self-pay rate.

A fair price for a Culture, blood is about $13 (about 1.3× the $10 Medicare rate). Sanford Medical Center Bismarck charges insurers about $11, or about $98 in cash — below the fair price — a good deal. Located in Bismarck, ND.

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	$11 - $171	107%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$10 - $178	97%
Aetnamajor	$11 - $178	107%
Cignamajor	$82 - $168	795%
Health Net	$74 - $184	717%
HealthPartners	$11 - $154	107%
Medica	$68 - $181	659%
Sanford Health Plan	$10 - $174	97%
Security Health Plan	$45 - $113	436%
UCare	$11 - $180	107%
+ 2 smaller / regional plans	$11 - $184

Government programs also on file: Medicare.

Excludes 1 rental-network / third-party entry (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 98), 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: 87040.

Insurance Before you use insurance

Call your insurance company to confirm Sanford Medical Center Bismarck is in-network.
Ask your insurer whether prior approval is required for CPT code 87040.
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 Sanford Medical Center Bismarck

Compare: Culture, blood at other ND hospitals

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