Specific gravity body fluid 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

$110.60

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.

$158.00

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.

$6.55 with CURAECHOICE [6100] vs $41.00 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 →

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
CURAECHOICE [6100] NMHC CURAECHOICE $6.55 ↓ -94%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NMHC IMAGINE HEALTH $7.56 ↓ -93%
IMAGINE HEALTH [6032] NMHC IMAGINE HEALTH $7.56 ↓ -93%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NMH AETNA NM EMPLOYEES $7.95 ↓ -93%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NMH AETNA BP $12.30 ↓ -89%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NMH AETNA ASA $14.47 ↓ -87%
HUMANA HEALTH PLAN [130] NMH ADVOCATE IPA $16.40 ↓ -85%
HUMANA HEALTH PLAN [130] NMH CHS IPA $16.40 ↓ -85%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NMHC SCPP IPA $17.10 ↓ -85%
HUMANA HEALTH PLAN [130] NMHC SCPP IPA $17.10 ↓ -85%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NMHC CHWN IPA $17.10 ↓ -85%
HUMANA HEALTH PLAN [130] NMHC UIC IPA $19.00 ↓ -83%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NMHC UIC IPA $19.00 ↓ -83%
HEALTHLINK [125] NMH SEIU HEALTHLINK $20.50 ↓ -81%
GLOBAL MEDICAL MANAGEMENT INC [6090] NMHC GMMI $22.04 ↓ -80%
MEDPARTNERS [6038] NMHC MEDPARTNERS $26.60 ↓ -76%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NMH HFN PLATINUM/CHC ELITE $26.65 ↓ -76%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NMH CIGNA BEHAVIORAL HEALTH (EVERNORTH) $32.80 ↓ -70%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NMH PHCS PPO $32.80 ↓ -70%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NMH HFN/20 EPO $33.62 ↓ -70%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NMH HFN/10 PPO $34.85 ↓ -68%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NMHC NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $38.00 ↓ -66%
HEALTHLINK [125] NMHC NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $38.00 ↓ -66%
FIRST HEALTH PLAN [6034] NMHC NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $38.00 ↓ -66%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NMHC NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $38.00 ↓ -66%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NMHC NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $38.00 ↓ -66%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NMHC UHC REF LAB JOHN DEERE $38.00 ↓ -66%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NMHC NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $38.00 ↓ -66%
GALAXY HEALTH NETWORK [220] NMHC NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $38.00 ↓ -66%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NMHC NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $38.00 ↓ -66%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NMH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $41.00 ↓ -63%
OPTUM/UNITED BEHAVIORAL HEALTH [157] NMH Optum UBH $41.00 ↓ -63%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NMH UHC NON-CONTRACTED OON - ED ONLY $41.00 ↓ -63%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NMH AETNA TRANSPLANT not published by hospital
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NMH CIGNA LIFESOURCE TRANSPLANT not published by hospital
HUMANA HEALTH PLAN [130] NMH IL HEALTH PARTNERS IPA not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

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Specific gravity body fluid at other Illinois hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Ascension Saint Joseph - Chicago (Presence Chicago Hospital Network) Chicago $11.22 $2.46 – $13.62
Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center Chicago not published $3.28 – $14.88
Advocate Trinity Hospital Chicago not published $3.28 – $14.88
MercyOne Genesis Silvis Medical Center Silvis $34.20 $4.42 – $52.44
MercyOne Genesis Aledo Medical Center Aledo $21.00 $3.77 – $16.45
UnityPoint Health - Trinity Moline Rock Island $33.57 $1.97 – $18.50
SSM Health Good Samaritan Hospital - Mt. Vernon Mount Vernon $19.80 $3.28 – $3.44
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Centralia Centralia $19.80 $3.28 – $3.44

All Illinois hospitals for this procedure →