Chg radiologic exam esophagus double contrast at Advocate South Suburban Hospital

17800 South Kedzie Avenue, Hazel Crest, IL · Advocate Health · · NPI 1467560128

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Nov 4, 2025 · Ingested Aug 13, 2026

$445.00

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.

$890.00

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.

$220.00 with United Healthcare Charter vs $866.86 with Blue Cross Blue Shield Blue Precision — 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
United Healthcare Charter Commercial $220.00 ↓ -51%
Molina Medicare Advantage $269.08 ↓ -40%
Ambetter Medicare Advantage $269.08 ↓ -40%
Oscar Health HMO Medicare Advantage $278.36 ↓ -37%
United Healthcare Nexus Commercial $293.00 ↓ -34%
Cigna One Health Commercial $345.20 ↓ -22%
Cigna Commercial $345.20 ↓ -22%
Advocate Employee Commercial $350.66 ↓ -21%
HSTechnology Medicare Advantage $356.30 ↓ -20%
Aetna Commercial $480.16 ↑ +8%
Private Healthcare Systems Commercial $480.60 ↑ +8%
Blue Cross Blue Shield City of Chicago Commercial $485.23 ↑ +9%
Blue Cross Blue Shield Choice Commercial $524.57 ↑ +18%
United Healthcare Core Navigate Commercial $549.00 ↑ +23%
Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO $551.99 ↑ +24%
United Healthcare HMO $634.00 ↑ +42%
Multiplan Commercial $712.00 ↑ +60%
Blue Cross Blue Shield HMO $866.86 ↑ +95%
Blue Cross Blue Shield Blue Precision Managed Care $866.86 ↑ +95%

Visitor-reported prices

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Chg radiologic exam esophagus double contrast at other Illinois hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Advocate Christ Medical Center Oak Lawn $445.00 $220.00 – $712.00
Advocate Condell Medical Center Libertyville $445.00 $195.00 – $712.00
Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital Downers Grove $445.00 $220.00 – $712.00
UnityPoint Health - Trinity Moline Rock Island $405.14 $30.62 – $223.33
SSM Health Good Samaritan Hospital - Mt. Vernon Mount Vernon $1,790.25 $187.96 – $197.36
Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center Chicago $445.00 $220.00 – $712.00
Advocate Childrens Hospital - Park Ridge Park Ridge $445.00 $220.00 – $712.00
Advocate Sherman Hospital Elgin $445.00 $174.00 – $801.00

All Illinois hospitals for this procedure →