Brain MRA (blood vessel MRI, with and without contrast) at Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital DBA Northwestern Medicine Catherine Gratz Griffin Lake Forest Hospital
1000 N. Westmoreland Rd., Lake Forest, IL · Nm · · NPI 1124025176
$5,710.60
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.
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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
$8,158.00
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.
$1,354.23 with AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] vs $8,158.00 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 | $1,354.23 | ↓ -76% |
| ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] | NLFH BCBS HMO | $1,728.68 | ↓ -70% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | NLFH BCBS HMO | $1,728.68 | ↓ -70% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE PREFERRED | $1,908.97 | ↓ -67% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE OPTIONS | $1,908.97 | ↓ -67% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE SELECT | $1,908.97 | ↓ -67% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | NLFH BCBS PPO | $2,227.13 | ↓ -61% |
| ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] | NLFH BCBS PPO | $2,227.13 | ↓ -61% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | NLFH BC LAKE COUNTY PHYS ASSOC IPA | $3,671.10 | ↓ -36% |
| HEALTHLINK [125] | NLFH SEIU HEALTHLINK | $4,079.00 | ↓ -29% |
| HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] | NLFH HFN PLATINUM/CHC ELITE | $5,212.96 | ↓ -9% |
| THE ALLIANCE [1703] | NLFH THE ALLIANCE | $5,239.88 | ↓ -8% |
| BEECHSTREET [176] | NLFH PHCS | $6,526.40 | ↑ +14% |
| MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] | NLFH PHCS | $6,526.40 | ↑ +14% |
| FIRST HEALTH PLAN [6034] | NLFH FIRST HEALTH | $6,689.56 | ↑ +17% |
| HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] | NLFH HFN PPO | $7,342.20 | ↑ +29% |
| MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] | NLFH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS | $8,158.00 | ↑ +43% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | NLFH BCBS PAR/INDEMNITY ADP | $8,158.00 | ↑ +43% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] | NLFH UHC NON-CONTRACTED OON - ED ONLY | $8,158.00 | ↑ +43% |
| GLOBAL EXCEL [1712] | NLFH MEDICARE | not published by hospital | — |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | NLFH ADVOCATE IPA | not published by hospital | — |
| ALTERNATE HUMANA MEDICARE ADV [2409] | NLFH HUMANA MEDICARE ADVT | not published by hospital | — |
| ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS MEDICARE ADV [2304] | NLFH BLUE CROSS MEDICARE ADVT | not published by hospital | — |
| HUMANA HEALTH PLAN [130] | NLFH ADVOCATE IPA | not published by hospital | — |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Brain MRA (blood vessel MRI, with and without contrast) at other Illinois hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| MercyOne Genesis Silvis Medical Center | Silvis | $2,329.20 | $372.28 – $3,571.44 |
| MercyOne Genesis Aledo Medical Center | Aledo | $2,329.20 | $421.38 – $1,824.54 |
| Uchicago Medicine Adventhealth Hinsdale | Hinsdale | $1,250.00 | $366.01 – $605.65 |
| Advocate Christ Medical Center | Oak Lawn | $1,915.00 | $539.81 – $3,064.00 |
| Northwestern Memorial Hospital | Chicago | $5,710.60 | not published |
| 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 | $3,768.19 | $64.56 – $2,077.21 |