Csf leakage imaging 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

$4,918.90

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.

$7,027.00

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.

$1,166.48 with AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] vs $7,027.00 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 →

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 $1,166.48 ↓ -76%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] NLFH BCBS HMO $1,489.02 ↓ -70%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS HMO $1,489.02 ↓ -70%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE SELECT $1,644.32 ↓ -67%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE OPTIONS $1,644.32 ↓ -67%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE PREFERRED $1,644.32 ↓ -67%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS PPO $1,918.37 ↓ -61%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] NLFH BCBS PPO $1,918.37 ↓ -61%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NLFH AETNA $3,021.61 ↓ -39%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BC LAKE COUNTY PHYS ASSOC IPA $3,162.15 ↓ -36%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NLFH AETNA ASA $3,197.29 ↓ -35%
HEALTHLINK [125] NLFH SEIU HEALTHLINK $3,513.50 ↓ -29%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NLFH HFN PLATINUM/CHC ELITE $4,490.25 ↓ -9%
THE ALLIANCE [1703] NLFH THE ALLIANCE $4,513.44 ↓ -8%
BEECHSTREET [176] NLFH PHCS $5,621.60 ↑ +14%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NLFH PHCS $5,621.60 ↑ +14%
FIRST HEALTH PLAN [6034] NLFH FIRST HEALTH $5,762.14 ↑ +17%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NLFH HFN PPO $6,324.30 ↑ +29%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NLFH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $7,027.00 ↑ +43%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS PAR/INDEMNITY ADP $7,027.00 ↑ +43%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NLFH UHC NON-CONTRACTED OON - ED ONLY $7,027.00 ↑ +43%
GLOBAL EXCEL [1712] NLFH MEDICARE not published by hospital
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
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH ADVOCATE IPA not published by hospital
HUMANA HEALTH PLAN [130] NLFH ADVOCATE IPA not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

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Csf leakage imaging at other Illinois hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Advocate Christ Medical Center Oak Lawn $1,405.00 $1,017.07 – $3,966.00
Northwestern Memorial Hospital Chicago $4,918.90 not published
UnityPoint Health - Trinity Moline Rock Island $730.40 $22.83 – $1,015.61
SSM Health Good Samaritan Hospital - Mt. Vernon Mount Vernon $1,963.50 $1,387.37 – $1,456.74
Advocate Childrens Hospital - Park Ridge Park Ridge $1,405.00 $1,017.07 – $3,966.00
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Centralia Centralia $1,963.50 $1,387.37 – $1,456.74
Ascension Saint Joseph - Chicago (Presence Chicago Hospital Network) Chicago $1,044.12 $248.92 – $2,938.37
OSF Little Company of Mary Medical Center Evergreen Park $958.80 $44.14 – $2,580.51

All Illinois hospitals for this procedure →