Dilate esophagus 1/mult pass 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

$10,312.69

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.

$14,732.41

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.

$993.01 with AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] vs $5,982.00 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 $993.01 ↓ -90%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NLFH UHC CORE $1,068.50 ↓ -90%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NLFH UHC HMO/PPO $1,187.00 ↓ -88%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS HMO $1,267.59 ↓ -88%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] NLFH BCBS HMO $1,267.59 ↓ -88%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE SELECT $1,399.79 ↓ -86%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE OPTIONS $1,399.79 ↓ -86%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE PREFERRED $1,399.79 ↓ -86%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS PPO $1,633.09 ↓ -84%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] NLFH BCBS PPO $1,633.09 ↓ -84%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NLFH AETNA $1,635.00 ↓ -84%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NLFH AETNA ASA $1,798.50 ↓ -83%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NLFH CIGNA ALTERNATIVE $2,255.21 ↓ -78%
HEALTHLINK [125] NLFH SEIU HEALTHLINK $2,991.00 ↓ -71%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NLFH HFN PLATINUM/CHC ELITE $3,822.50 ↓ -63%
THE ALLIANCE [1703] NLFH THE ALLIANCE $3,842.24 ↓ -63%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NLFH CIGNA BROAD $3,876.34 ↓ -62%
BEECHSTREET [176] NLFH PHCS $4,785.60 ↓ -54%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NLFH PHCS $4,785.60 ↓ -54%
FIRST HEALTH PLAN [6034] NLFH FIRST HEALTH $4,905.24 ↓ -52%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NLFH HFN PPO $5,383.80 ↓ -48%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS PAR/INDEMNITY ADP $5,982.00 ↓ -42%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NLFH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $5,982.00 ↓ -42%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BC LAKE COUNTY PHYS ASSOC IPA $5,982.00 ↓ -42%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NLFH UHC NON-CONTRACTED OON - ED ONLY $5,982.00 ↓ -42%
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
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS MEDICARE ADV [2304] NLFH BLUE CROSS MEDICARE ADVT not published by hospital
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH ADVOCATE IPA not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

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Dilate esophagus 1/mult pass at other Illinois hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MercyOne Genesis Silvis Medical Center Silvis $303.60 $353.05 – $465.52
MercyOne Genesis Aledo Medical Center Aledo $303.60 $956.16 – $2,970.16
Northwestern Memorial Hospital Chicago $10,312.69 not published
UnityPoint Health - Trinity Moline Rock Island $420.80 $71.53 – $729.38
Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital IL 60190 $4,187.40 not published
Northwestern Medicine Valley West Hospital Sandwich $7,590.56 $74.90 – $74.90
Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital Palos Heights $10,813.42 not published
HSHS Holy Family Hospital GREENVILLE $2,110.32 $354.02 – $2,429.86

All Illinois hospitals for this procedure →