healthcosts.net
Skin Biopsy at Advocate Sherman Hospital
1425 North Randall Road, Elgin, IL · Advocate Health · · NPI 1629026364
$245.00
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.
?
What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
$490.00
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.
?
The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$181.79 with Blue Cross Blue Shield City of Chicago vs $4,116.00 with United Healthcare — same scan, same building. Share
Negotiated rates by payer
?
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 →
?
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Cross Blue Shield City of Chicago | Commercial | $181.79 | ↓ -26% |
| Advocate Employee | Commercial | $193.06 | ↓ -21% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield Choice | Commercial | $196.49 | ↓ -20% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield | PPO | $206.78 | ↓ -16% |
| Cigna One Health | Commercial | $254.80 | ↑ +4% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield Blue Precision | Managed Care | $280.28 | ↑ +14% |
| Aetna | Commercial | $283.56 | ↑ +16% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield | HMO | $285.67 | ↑ +17% |
| Ambetter | Medicare Advantage | $300.34 | ↑ +23% |
| Molina | Medicare Advantage | $300.34 | ↑ +23% |
| Oscar Health HMO | Medicare Advantage | $310.69 | ↑ +27% |
| Cigna | Commercial | $323.40 | ↑ +32% |
| Private Healthcare Systems | Commercial | $396.90 | ↑ +62% |
| HSTechnology | Medicare Advantage | $397.69 | ↑ +62% |
| Multiplan | Commercial | $441.00 | ↑ +80% |
| United Healthcare Charter | Commercial | $3,260.00 | ↑ +1231% |
| United Healthcare Core Navigate | Commercial | $3,606.00 | ↑ +1372% |
| United Healthcare Nexus | Commercial | $3,705.00 | ↑ +1412% |
| United Healthcare | HMO | $4,116.00 | ↑ +1580% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Skin Biopsy at other Illinois hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| MercyOne Genesis Silvis Medical Center | Silvis | $160.80 | $69.76 – $2,143.62 |
| MercyOne Genesis Aledo Medical Center | Aledo | $160.80 | $1,149.82 – $2,970.16 |
| Advocate Christ Medical Center | Oak Lawn | $390.00 | $300.34 – $6,291.00 |
| Advocate Condell Medical Center | Libertyville | $402.50 | $300.34 – $4,528.00 |
| Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital | Downers Grove | $212.50 | $167.45 – $6,291.00 |
| UnityPoint Health - Trinity Moline | Rock Island | $393.84 | $34.05 – $217.10 |
| Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center | Chicago | $192.50 | $151.69 – $6,291.00 |
| Advocate Childrens Hospital - Park Ridge | Park Ridge | $230.00 | $181.24 – $6,291.00 |