Biopsy of heart lining at Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital DBA Northwestern Medicine Catherine Gratz Griffin Lake Forest Hospital
1000 N. Westmoreland Rd., Lake Forest, IL · Nm · · NPI 1124025176
$2,163.70
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.
$3,091.00
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.
$513.11 with AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] vs $3,091.00 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 →
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] | NLFH AETNA NM EMPLOYEES | $513.11 | ↓ -76% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | NLFH BCBS HMO | $654.98 | ↓ -70% |
| ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] | NLFH BCBS HMO | $654.98 | ↓ -70% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE PREFERRED | $720.20 | ↓ -67% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE SELECT | $720.20 | ↓ -67% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE OPTIONS | $720.20 | ↓ -67% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | NLFH BCBS PPO | $831.48 | ↓ -62% |
| ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] | NLFH BCBS PPO | $831.48 | ↓ -62% |
| CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] | NLFH CIGNA ALTERNATIVE | $1,165.31 | ↓ -46% |
| HEALTHLINK [125] | NLFH SEIU HEALTHLINK | $1,545.50 | ↓ -29% |
| HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] | NLFH HFN PLATINUM/CHC ELITE | $1,975.15 | ↓ -9% |
| THE ALLIANCE [1703] | NLFH THE ALLIANCE | $1,985.35 | ↓ -8% |
| CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] | NLFH CIGNA BROAD | $2,002.97 | ↓ -7% |
| BEECHSTREET [176] | NLFH PHCS | $2,472.80 | ↑ +14% |
| MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] | NLFH PHCS | $2,472.80 | ↑ +14% |
| FIRST HEALTH PLAN [6034] | NLFH FIRST HEALTH | $2,534.62 | ↑ +17% |
| HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] | NLFH HFN PPO | $2,781.90 | ↑ +29% |
| MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] | NLFH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS | $3,091.00 | ↑ +43% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | NLFH BC LAKE COUNTY PHYS ASSOC IPA | $3,091.00 | ↑ +43% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | NLFH BCBS PAR/INDEMNITY ADP | $3,091.00 | ↑ +43% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] | NLFH UHC NON-CONTRACTED OON - ED ONLY | $3,091.00 | ↑ +43% |
| ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS MEDICARE ADV [2304] | NLFH BLUE CROSS MEDICARE ADVT | not published by hospital | — |
| GLOBAL EXCEL [1712] | NLFH MEDICARE | 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 | — |
Visitor-reported prices
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Biopsy of heart lining at other Illinois hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| MercyOne Genesis Silvis Medical Center | Silvis | $3,648.60 | $1,945.92 – $5,594.52 |
| Advocate Christ Medical Center | Oak Lawn | $3,035.00 | $2,391.58 – $17,439.00 |
| Northwestern Memorial Hospital | Chicago | $3,075.10 | not published |
| Advocate Condell Medical Center | Libertyville | $4,895.00 | $2,902.06 – $9,476.00 |
| Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital | Downers Grove | $3,390.00 | $2,671.32 – $17,439.00 |
| UnityPoint Health - Trinity Moline | Rock Island | $2,276.64 | $196.63 – $2,448.63 |
| SSM Health Good Samaritan Hospital - Mt. Vernon | Mount Vernon | $2,781.90 | $3,383.62 – $3,552.80 |
| Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center | Chicago | $3,590.00 | $2,828.92 – $17,439.00 |