Puncture spinal lumbar diagnostic at Northwestern Memorial Hospital
251 E. Huron, Chicago, IL · Nm · · NPI 1497859649
$1,750.31
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.
$2,500.44
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.
$179.01 with CURAECHOICE [6100] vs $2,080.00 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 | $179.01 | ↓ -90% |
| AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] | NMHC IMAGINE HEALTH | $206.55 | ↓ -88% |
| IMAGINE HEALTH [6032] | NMHC IMAGINE HEALTH | $206.55 | ↓ -88% |
| CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] | NMH CIGNA ALTERNATIVE | $319.02 | ↓ -82% |
| AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] | NMH AETNA NM EMPLOYEES | $330.96 | ↓ -81% |
| HUMANA HEALTH PLAN [130] | NMHC SCPP IPA | $344.25 | ↓ -80% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | NMHC CHWN IPA | $344.25 | ↓ -80% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | NMHC SCPP IPA | $344.25 | ↓ -80% |
| HUMANA HEALTH PLAN [130] | NMHC UIC IPA | $382.50 | ↓ -78% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | NMHC UIC IPA | $382.50 | ↓ -78% |
| GLOBAL MEDICAL MANAGEMENT INC [6090] | NMHC GMMI | $443.70 | ↓ -75% |
| AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] | NMH AETNA BP | $511.80 | ↓ -71% |
| MEDPARTNERS [6038] | NMHC MEDPARTNERS | $535.50 | ↓ -69% |
| AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] | NMH AETNA | $545.92 | ↓ -69% |
| AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] | NMH AETNA ASA | $602.22 | ↓ -66% |
| HUMANA HEALTH PLAN [130] | NMH CHS IPA | $682.40 | ↓ -61% |
| HUMANA HEALTH PLAN [130] | NMH ADVOCATE IPA | $682.40 | ↓ -61% |
| CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] | NMHC NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS | $765.00 | ↓ -56% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] | NMHC UHC REF LAB JOHN DEERE | $765.00 | ↓ -56% |
| FIRST HEALTH PLAN [6034] | NMHC NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS | $765.00 | ↓ -56% |
| HEALTHLINK [125] | NMHC NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS | $765.00 | ↓ -56% |
| GALAXY HEALTH NETWORK [220] | NMHC NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS | $765.00 | ↓ -56% |
| MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] | NMHC NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS | $765.00 | ↓ -56% |
| AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] | NMHC NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS | $765.00 | ↓ -56% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | NMHC NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS | $765.00 | ↓ -56% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] | NMHC NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS | $765.00 | ↓ -56% |
| CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] | NMH CIGNA BROAD | $791.58 | ↓ -55% |
| HEALTHLINK [125] | NMH SEIU HEALTHLINK | $853.00 | ↓ -51% |
| HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] | NMH HFN PLATINUM/CHC ELITE | $1,108.90 | ↓ -37% |
| MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] | NMH PHCS PPO | $1,364.80 | ↓ -22% |
| CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] | NMH CIGNA BEHAVIORAL HEALTH (EVERNORTH) | $1,364.80 | ↓ -22% |
| HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] | NMH HFN/20 EPO | $1,398.92 | ↓ -20% |
| HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] | NMH HFN/10 PPO | $1,450.10 | ↓ -17% |
| MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] | NMH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS | $1,706.00 | ↓ -3% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] | NMH UHC NON-CONTRACTED OON - ED ONLY | $1,706.00 | ↓ -3% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] | NMH UHC CORE | $1,872.00 | ↑ +7% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] | NMH UHC | $2,080.00 | ↑ +19% |
| CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] | NMH CIGNA LIFESOURCE TRANSPLANT | not published by hospital | — |
| AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] | NMH AETNA TRANSPLANT | not published by hospital | — |
| HUMANA HEALTH PLAN [130] | NMH IL HEALTH PARTNERS IPA | not published by hospital | — |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Puncture spinal lumbar diagnostic at other Illinois hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center | Chicago | $1,215.00 | $957.42 – $6,071.00 |
| Advocate Trinity Hospital | Chicago | $710.00 | $559.48 – $6,071.00 |
| Ascension Saint Joseph - Chicago (Presence Chicago Hospital Network) | Chicago | not published | $721.90 – $1,169.48 |
| MercyOne Genesis Silvis Medical Center | Silvis | $1,052.40 | $68.61 – $1,082.85 |
| MercyOne Genesis Aledo Medical Center | Aledo | $1,052.40 | $163.00 – $824.38 |
| Uchicago Medicine Adventhealth Hinsdale | Hinsdale | $435.00 | $430.00 – $1,225.43 |
| Advocate Christ Medical Center | Oak Lawn | $1,215.00 | $957.42 – $6,071.00 |
| Advocate Condell Medical Center | Libertyville | $1,050.00 | $827.40 – $4,681.00 |