Biliary endoscopy thru skin at Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital DBA Northwestern Medicine Catherine Gratz Griffin Lake Forest Hospital

1000 N. Westmoreland Rd., Lake Forest, IL · Nm · · NPI 1124025176

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

$11,093.60

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.

Full explanation →

What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$15,848.00

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.

Full explanation →

The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$2,630.77 with AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] vs $15,848.00 with UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] — 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 →

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
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NLFH AETNA NM EMPLOYEES $2,630.77 ↓ -76%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS HMO $3,358.19 ↓ -70%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] NLFH BCBS HMO $3,358.19 ↓ -70%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE PREFERRED $3,692.58 ↓ -67%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE SELECT $3,692.58 ↓ -67%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE OPTIONS $3,692.58 ↓ -67%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS PPO $4,263.11 ↓ -62%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] NLFH BCBS PPO $4,263.11 ↓ -62%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NLFH CIGNA ALTERNATIVE $5,974.70 ↓ -46%
HEALTHLINK [125] NLFH SEIU HEALTHLINK $7,924.00 ↓ -29%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NLFH HFN PLATINUM/CHC ELITE $10,126.87 ↓ -9%
THE ALLIANCE [1703] NLFH THE ALLIANCE $10,179.17 ↓ -8%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NLFH CIGNA BROAD $10,269.50 ↓ -7%
FIRST HEALTH PLAN [6034] NLFH FIRST HEALTH $12,202.96 ↑ +10%
BEECHSTREET [176] NLFH PHCS $12,678.40 ↑ +14%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NLFH PHCS $12,678.40 ↑ +14%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NLFH HFN PPO $14,263.20 ↑ +29%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NLFH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $15,848.00 ↑ +43%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BC LAKE COUNTY PHYS ASSOC IPA $15,848.00 ↑ +43%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS PAR/INDEMNITY ADP $15,848.00 ↑ +43%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NLFH UHC NON-CONTRACTED OON - ED ONLY $15,848.00 ↑ +43%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS MEDICARE ADV [2304] NLFH BLUE CROSS MEDICARE ADVT not published by hospital
ALTERNATE HUMANA MEDICARE ADV [2409] NLFH HUMANA MEDICARE ADVT not published by hospital
HUMANA HEALTH PLAN [130] NLFH ADVOCATE IPA not published by hospital
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH ADVOCATE IPA not published by hospital
GLOBAL EXCEL [1712] NLFH MEDICARE not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Biliary endoscopy thru skin at other Illinois hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UnityPoint Health - Trinity Moline Rock Island $1,260.80 $398.48 – $8,099.52
Advocate Sherman Hospital Elgin $4,760.00 $3,531.92 – $20,837.50
Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital IL 60190 $75,249.58 not published
Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital Geneva $6,945.40 not published
MercyOne Genesis Silvis Medical Center Silvis not published $4,431.26 – $16,279.30
MercyOne Genesis Aledo Medical Center Aledo not published $1,297.00 – $12,000.99
Uchicago Medicine Adventhealth Hinsdale Hinsdale not published $658.00 – $18,453.63
Advocate Christ Medical Center Oak Lawn not published $12,700.00 – $25,111.00

All Illinois hospitals for this procedure →