Brace cust back lso 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

$990.50

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.

$1,415.00

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.

$234.89 with AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] vs $1,415.00 with BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] — 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
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NLFH AETNA NM EMPLOYEES $234.89 ↓ -76%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NLFH CIGNA ALTERNATIVE $297.15 ↓ -70%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] NLFH BCBS HMO $299.84 ↓ -70%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS HMO $299.84 ↓ -70%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE PREFERRED $331.11 ↓ -67%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE SELECT $331.11 ↓ -67%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE OPTIONS $331.11 ↓ -67%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] NLFH BCBS PPO $386.30 ↓ -61%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS PPO $386.30 ↓ -61%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NLFH AETNA $608.45 ↓ -39%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NLFH AETNA ASA $643.83 ↓ -35%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NLFH UHC CORE $670.71 ↓ -32%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NLFH CIGNA BROAD $687.69 ↓ -31%
HEALTHLINK [125] NLFH SEIU HEALTHLINK $707.50 ↓ -29%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NLFH UHC HMO/PPO $745.71 ↓ -25%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NLFH HFN PLATINUM/CHC ELITE $904.19 ↓ -9%
THE ALLIANCE [1703] NLFH THE ALLIANCE $908.85 ↓ -8%
FIRST HEALTH PLAN [6034] NLFH FIRST HEALTH $1,089.55 ↑ +10%
BEECHSTREET [176] NLFH PHCS $1,132.00 ↑ +14%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NLFH PHCS $1,132.00 ↑ +14%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NLFH HFN PPO $1,273.50 ↑ +29%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS PAR/INDEMNITY ADP $1,415.00 ↑ +43%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NLFH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $1,415.00 ↑ +43%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NLFH UHC NON-CONTRACTED OON - ED ONLY $1,415.00 ↑ +43%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BC LAKE COUNTY PHYS ASSOC IPA $1,415.00 ↑ +43%
ALTERNATE HUMANA MEDICARE ADV [2409] NLFH HUMANA MEDICARE ADVT not published by hospital
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH ADVOCATE IPA not published by hospital
HUMANA HEALTH PLAN [130] NLFH ADVOCATE IPA not published by hospital
GLOBAL EXCEL [1712] NLFH MEDICARE not published by hospital
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS MEDICARE ADV [2304] NLFH BLUE CROSS MEDICARE ADVT not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

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Brace cust back lso at other Illinois hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Northwestern Memorial Hospital Chicago $1,993.60 not published
Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital IL 60190 $990.50 not published
Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital McHenry $990.50 not published
HSHS St. John's Hospital IL 62769|301 N. 8th St. $1,611.36 $1,333.85 – $3,642.20
Advocate Christ Medical Center Oak Lawn not published $1,793.45 – $6,401.54
Advocate Condell Medical Center Libertyville not published $1,793.45 – $4,036.84
Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital Downers Grove not published $1,793.45 – $6,553.06
UnityPoint Health - Trinity Moline Rock Island not published $614.05 – $1,978.98

All Illinois hospitals for this procedure →