MRA upper extremity post contrast-bil at Ascension Saint Joseph - Chicago (Presence Chicago Hospital Network)

2900 N Lake Shore Dr, Chicago, IL · Ascension · · NPI 1679659585

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Jan 1, 2026 · Ingested Sep 7, 2026

$1,650.66

Cash price

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Discounted cash price

What a hospital charges a self-pay patient who pays directly, without going through insurance — usually well below the gross charge.

Example: A CT scan has a $3,200 gross charge but an $850 discounted cash price. Ask for it by name when scheduling — hospitals don't always advertise it up front.

Full explanation →

What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$5,002.00

Gross charge

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Gross charge (chargemaster price)

The hospital's full, undiscounted list price — pulled from its internal "chargemaster" price list. Almost no one actually pays this.

Example: A chest X-ray has a gross charge of $1,450. The same hospital's discounted cash price for the same X-ray is $180 — the gross charge mostly anchors negotiations, not what patients pay.

Full explanation →

The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$300.43 with CIGNA IFP vs $2,439.06 with AETNA — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
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Negotiated rate

The price a specific insurance plan agreed to pay the hospital for a service — it varies by insurer, and even by plan within the same insurer.

Example: The same knee MRI has a negotiated rate of $904 with one insurer's PPO plan and $1,509 with another's — identical hospital, identical scan.

Full explanation →

Payer
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Payer

The insurance company footing the bill — Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Medicare, and so on.

Example: "Blue Cross Blue Shield" is the payer. Its negotiated rate for an MRI might be $904, while a different payer's negotiated rate for the same scan is $1,509.

Full explanation →
Plan
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Plan

The specific product an insurer sells — e.g. "Blue Cross PPO 500" — which sets your deductible, coinsurance and negotiated rates.

Example: Two people both insured by Aetna can owe very different amounts for the same MRI: $50 with an HMO plan's flat copay, or the full $1,200 toward a high-deductible PPO plan's unmet deductible.

Full explanation →
Negotiated rate vs. cash
CIGNA IFP 3019_JCIL CIGNA IFP 20250101 $300.43 ↓ -82%
UHC PPO 3096_PFIL, PRIL, PSIL UNITED HEALTHCARE OPTIONS PPO 20250701 $308.11 ↓ -81%
CIGNA ONE HEALTH 2826_CIGNA ONE HEALTH 20241001 $486.00 ↓ -71%
UHC CHOICE 3095_PFIL, PRIL, PSIL UNITED HEALTHCARE 20250701 $693.25 ↓ -58%
BCBS BCS 2832_JCIL BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD BCS 20241001 $1,433.85 ↓ -13%
BCBS BCE 2879_JCIL BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD BCE 20241001 $1,433.85 ↓ -13%
BCBS PPO 2834_JCIL BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD PPO 20241001 $2,120.36 ↑ +28%
AETNA 2925_JCIL AETNA 20250201 $2,439.06 ↑ +48%

Visitor-reported prices

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MRA upper extremity post contrast-bil at other Illinois hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center Chicago $2,125.00 $1,063.80 – $2,370.82
Advocate Trinity Hospital Chicago $3,220.00 $1,096.00 – $2,640.00
MercyOne Genesis Silvis Medical Center Silvis $3,207.60 $502.71 – $4,918.32
MercyOne Genesis Aledo Medical Center Aledo $3,207.60 $1,264.00 – $2,512.62
Advocate Christ Medical Center Oak Lawn $2,400.00 $953.48 – $2,300.93
Advocate Condell Medical Center Libertyville $2,750.00 $1,096.00 – $2,824.00
Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital Downers Grove $2,360.00 $1,096.00 – $3,776.00
UnityPoint Health - Trinity Moline Rock Island $968.00 $73.98 – $655.14

All Illinois hospitals for this procedure →