Dilate biliary duct/ampulla 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

$12,534.75

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.

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

$17,906.79

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.

$6.00 with UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] vs $5,412.00 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
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NLFH UHC HMO/PPO $6.00 ↓ -100%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NLFH UHC CORE $6.00 ↓ -100%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NLFH AETNA NM EMPLOYEES $898.39 ↓ -93%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS HMO $1,146.80 ↓ -91%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] NLFH BCBS HMO $1,146.80 ↓ -91%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE SELECT $1,266.41 ↓ -90%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE OPTIONS $1,266.41 ↓ -90%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE PREFERRED $1,266.41 ↓ -90%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] NLFH BCBS PPO $1,477.48 ↓ -88%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS PPO $1,477.48 ↓ -88%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NLFH CIGNA ALTERNATIVE $2,040.32 ↓ -84%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NLFH AETNA $2,327.16 ↓ -81%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BC LAKE COUNTY PHYS ASSOC IPA $2,435.40 ↓ -81%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NLFH AETNA ASA $2,462.46 ↓ -80%
HEALTHLINK [125] NLFH SEIU HEALTHLINK $2,706.00 ↓ -78%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NLFH HFN PLATINUM/CHC ELITE $3,458.27 ↓ -72%
THE ALLIANCE [1703] NLFH THE ALLIANCE $3,476.13 ↓ -72%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NLFH CIGNA BROAD $3,506.98 ↓ -72%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NLFH PHCS $4,329.60 ↓ -65%
BEECHSTREET [176] NLFH PHCS $4,329.60 ↓ -65%
FIRST HEALTH PLAN [6034] NLFH FIRST HEALTH $4,437.84 ↓ -65%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NLFH HFN PPO $4,870.80 ↓ -61%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NLFH UHC NON-CONTRACTED OON - ED ONLY $5,412.00 ↓ -57%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NLFH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $5,412.00 ↓ -57%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS PAR/INDEMNITY ADP $5,412.00 ↓ -57%
HUMANA HEALTH PLAN [130] NLFH ADVOCATE IPA not published by hospital
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

Visitor-reported prices

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Dilate biliary duct/ampulla at other Illinois hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Advocate Christ Medical Center Oak Lawn $1,230.00 $969.24 – $6,291.00
Advocate Condell Medical Center Libertyville $1,000.00 $788.00 – $4,528.00
Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital Downers Grove $4,810.00 $3,181.00 – $7,696.00
UnityPoint Health - Trinity Moline Rock Island $1,273.60 $120.69 – $687.80
Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center Chicago $1,300.00 $1,024.40 – $6,291.00
Advocate Childrens Hospital - Park Ridge Park Ridge $1,485.00 $1,170.18 – $6,291.00
Advocate Sherman Hospital Elgin $4,475.00 $3,260.00 – $8,055.00
Advocate South Suburban Hospital Hazel Crest $1,470.00 $1,158.36 – $6,291.00

All Illinois hospitals for this procedure →