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Upper Back (Thoracic Spine) MRI (with and without contrast) at Advocate Sherman Hospital
1425 North Randall Road, Elgin, IL · Advocate Health · · NPI 1629026364
$2,785.00
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.
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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
$5,570.00
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.
$539.81 with Ambetter vs $5,013.00 with Multiplan — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ambetter | Medicare Advantage | $539.81 | ↓ -81% |
| Molina | Medicare Advantage | $539.81 | ↓ -81% |
| Oscar Health HMO | Medicare Advantage | $558.42 | ↓ -80% |
| HSTechnology | Medicare Advantage | $714.78 | ↓ -74% |
| Cigna | Commercial | $1,096.00 | ↓ -61% |
| Cigna One Health | Commercial | $1,096.00 | ↓ -61% |
| United Healthcare | HMO | $1,276.00 | ↓ -54% |
| United Healthcare Charter | Commercial | $1,276.00 | ↓ -54% |
| United Healthcare Core Navigate | Commercial | $1,276.00 | ↓ -54% |
| United Healthcare Nexus | Commercial | $1,276.00 | ↓ -54% |
| Aetna | Commercial | $1,613.00 | ↓ -42% |
| Advocate Employee | Commercial | $2,194.58 | ↓ -21% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield City of Chicago | Commercial | $2,268.67 | ↓ -19% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield Choice | Commercial | $2,451.46 | ↓ -12% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield | PPO | $2,580.48 | ↓ -7% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield Blue Precision | Managed Care | $3,186.04 | ↑ +14% |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield | HMO | $3,247.31 | ↑ +17% |
| Private Healthcare Systems | Commercial | $4,511.70 | ↑ +62% |
| Multiplan | Commercial | $5,013.00 | ↑ +80% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Upper Back (Thoracic Spine) MRI (with and without contrast) at other Illinois hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| MercyOne Genesis Silvis Medical Center | Silvis | $2,361.60 | $372.28 – $3,621.12 |
| MercyOne Genesis Aledo Medical Center | Aledo | $2,361.60 | $421.38 – $1,849.92 |
| Advocate Christ Medical Center | Oak Lawn | $1,915.00 | $539.81 – $3,064.00 |
| Advocate Condell Medical Center | Libertyville | $2,750.00 | $539.81 – $4,400.00 |
| Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital | Downers Grove | $2,360.00 | $539.81 – $3,776.00 |
| UnityPoint Health - Trinity Moline | Rock Island | $5,408.23 | $100.51 – $2,981.28 |
| Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center | Chicago | $2,125.00 | $539.81 – $3,400.00 |
| Advocate Childrens Hospital - Park Ridge | Park Ridge | $2,650.00 | $539.81 – $4,240.00 |