Observation per hour at Northwestern Memorial Hospital
251 E. Huron, Chicago, IL · Nm · · NPI 1497859649
$118.30
Cash price 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.
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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
$169.00
Gross charge 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.
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The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$15.68 with CURAECHOICE [6100] vs $151.00 with UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] — 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 →
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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 ?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 ?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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CURAECHOICE [6100] | NMHC CURAECHOICE | $15.68 | ↓ -87% |
| AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] | NMHC IMAGINE HEALTH | $18.09 | ↓ -85% |
| IMAGINE HEALTH [6032] | NMHC IMAGINE HEALTH | $18.09 | ↓ -85% |
| AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] | NMH AETNA NM EMPLOYEES | $29.29 | ↓ -75% |
| HUMANA HEALTH PLAN [130] | NMHC SCPP IPA | $30.15 | ↓ -75% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | NMHC CHWN IPA | $30.15 | ↓ -75% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | NMHC SCPP IPA | $30.15 | ↓ -75% |
| HUMANA HEALTH PLAN [130] | NMHC UIC IPA | $33.50 | ↓ -72% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | NMHC UIC IPA | $33.50 | ↓ -72% |
| CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] | NMH CIGNA ALTERNATIVE | $35.18 | ↓ -70% |
| GLOBAL MEDICAL MANAGEMENT INC [6090] | NMHC GMMI | $38.86 | ↓ -67% |
| AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] | NMH AETNA BP | $45.30 | ↓ -62% |
| MEDPARTNERS [6038] | NMHC MEDPARTNERS | $46.90 | ↓ -60% |
| AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] | NMH AETNA | $48.32 | ↓ -59% |
| AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] | NMH AETNA ASA | $53.30 | ↓ -55% |
| HUMANA HEALTH PLAN [130] | NMH CHS IPA | $60.40 | ↓ -49% |
| HUMANA HEALTH PLAN [130] | NMH ADVOCATE IPA | $60.40 | ↓ -49% |
| GALAXY HEALTH NETWORK [220] | NMHC NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS | $67.00 | ↓ -43% |
| HEALTHLINK [125] | NMHC NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS | $67.00 | ↓ -43% |
| CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] | NMHC NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS | $67.00 | ↓ -43% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] | NMHC NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS | $67.00 | ↓ -43% |
| FIRST HEALTH PLAN [6034] | NMHC NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS | $67.00 | ↓ -43% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | NMHC NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS | $67.00 | ↓ -43% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] | NMHC UHC REF LAB JOHN DEERE | $67.00 | ↓ -43% |
| MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] | NMHC NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS | $67.00 | ↓ -43% |
| AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] | NMHC NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS | $67.00 | ↓ -43% |
| HEALTHLINK [125] | NMH SEIU HEALTHLINK | $75.50 | ↓ -36% |
| CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] | NMH CIGNA BROAD | $87.73 | ↓ -26% |
| HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] | NMH HFN PLATINUM/CHC ELITE | $98.15 | ↓ -17% |
| CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] | NMH CIGNA BEHAVIORAL HEALTH (EVERNORTH) | $120.80 | ↑ +2% |
| MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] | NMH PHCS PPO | $120.80 | ↑ +2% |
| HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] | NMH HFN/20 EPO | $123.82 | ↑ +5% |
| HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] | NMH HFN/10 PPO | $128.35 | ↑ +8% |
| MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] | NMH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS | $151.00 | ↑ +28% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] | NMH UHC NON-CONTRACTED OON - ED ONLY | $151.00 | ↑ +28% |
| HUMANA HEALTH PLAN [130] | NMH IL HEALTH PARTNERS IPA | not published by hospital | — |
| CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] | NMH CIGNA LIFESOURCE TRANSPLANT | not published by hospital | — |
| AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] | NMH AETNA TRANSPLANT | not published by hospital | — |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Observation per hour at other Illinois hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center | Chicago | $120.00 | $57.13 – $11,037.00 |
| Advocate Trinity Hospital | Chicago | $125.00 | $65.01 – $11,037.00 |
| Ascension Saint Joseph - Chicago (Presence Chicago Hospital Network) | Chicago | $108.24 | $68.50 – $68.50 |
| Uchicago Medicine Adventhealth Hinsdale | Hinsdale | $19.75 | not published |
| Advocate Christ Medical Center | Oak Lawn | $82.50 | $51.22 – $11,037.00 |
| Advocate Condell Medical Center | Libertyville | $137.50 | $53.19 – $8,058.00 |
| Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital | Downers Grove | $82.50 | $53.19 – $11,037.00 |
| UnityPoint Health - Trinity Moline | Rock Island | $100.80 | $12.20 – $7,845.34 |