Sodium chloride 0.9 % IV bolus at Northwestern Memorial Hospital

251 E. Huron, Chicago, IL · Nm · · NPI 1497859649

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Apr 1, 2026 · Ingested Sep 17, 2026

$279.65

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.

$399.50

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.

$1.28 with AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] vs $6.50 with BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] — 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
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NMHC IMAGINE HEALTH $1.28 ↓ -100%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NMH AETNA BP $1.43 ↓ -99%
CURAECHOICE [6100] NMHC CURAECHOICE $1.52 ↓ -99%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NMH AETNA ASA $1.68 ↓ -99%
IMAGINE HEALTH [6032] NMHC IMAGINE HEALTH $1.76 ↓ -99%
HUMANA HEALTH PLAN [130] NMH ADVOCATE IPA $1.90 ↓ -99%
HUMANA HEALTH PLAN [130] NMH CHS IPA $1.90 ↓ -99%
HUMANA HEALTH PLAN [130] NMHC SCPP IPA $2.14 ↓ -99%
HEALTHLINK [125] NMH SEIU HEALTHLINK $2.38 ↓ -99%
HUMANA HEALTH PLAN [130] NMHC UIC IPA $2.38 ↓ -99%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NMHC SCPP IPA $2.93 ↓ -99%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NMHC CHWN IPA $2.93 ↓ -99%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NMH UHC $3.08 ↓ -99%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NMH HFN PLATINUM/CHC ELITE $3.09 ↓ -99%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NMHC UIC IPA $3.25 ↓ -99%
GLOBAL MEDICAL MANAGEMENT INC [6090] NMHC GMMI $3.77 ↓ -99%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NMH PHCS PPO $3.80 ↓ -99%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NMH CIGNA BEHAVIORAL HEALTH (EVERNORTH) $3.80 ↓ -99%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NMH HFN/20 EPO $3.90 ↓ -99%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NMH HFN/10 PPO $4.04 ↓ -99%
MEDPARTNERS [6038] NMHC MEDPARTNERS $4.55 ↓ -98%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NMHC NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $4.75 ↓ -98%
HEALTHLINK [125] NMHC NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $4.75 ↓ -98%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NMH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $4.75 ↓ -98%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NMH UHC NON-CONTRACTED OON - ED ONLY $4.75 ↓ -98%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NMHC NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $4.75 ↓ -98%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NMHC UHC REF LAB JOHN DEERE $4.75 ↓ -98%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NMHC NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $4.75 ↓ -98%
GALAXY HEALTH NETWORK [220] NMHC NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $4.75 ↓ -98%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NMHC NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $4.75 ↓ -98%
OPTUM/UNITED BEHAVIORAL HEALTH [157] NMH Optum UBH $4.75 ↓ -98%
FIRST HEALTH PLAN [6034] NMHC NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $6.50 ↓ -98%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NMHC NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $6.50 ↓ -98%
HUMANA HEALTH PLAN [130] NMH IL HEALTH PARTNERS IPA not published by hospital
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NMH AETNA TRANSPLANT not published by hospital
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NMH CIGNA LIFESOURCE TRANSPLANT not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

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Sodium chloride 0.9 % IV bolus at other Illinois hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center Chicago $60.15 $1.11 – $96.36
Advocate Trinity Hospital Chicago $57.54 $1.11 – $91.46
Advocate Christ Medical Center Oak Lawn $60.59 $1.11 – $45.26
Advocate Condell Medical Center Libertyville $59.89 $1.28 – $93.16
Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital Downers Grove $60.48 $1.11 – $96.42
UnityPoint Health - Trinity Moline Rock Island $48.00 $0.51 – $26.46
Advocate Childrens Hospital - Park Ridge Park Ridge $56.95 $1.11 – $88.68
Advocate Sherman Hospital Elgin $58.13 $1.28 – $102.41

All Illinois hospitals for this procedure →