Egd varices ligation 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

$8,136.09

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.

$11,622.99

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.

$1,046.13 with AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] vs $6,302.00 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 $1,046.13 ↓ -87%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS HMO $1,335.39 ↓ -84%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] NLFH BCBS HMO $1,335.39 ↓ -84%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE OPTIONS $1,474.67 ↓ -82%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE PREFERRED $1,474.67 ↓ -82%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE SELECT $1,474.67 ↓ -82%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] NLFH BCBS PPO $1,720.45 ↓ -79%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS PPO $1,720.45 ↓ -79%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NLFH UHC CORE $2,137.00 ↓ -74%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NLFH UHC HMO/PPO $2,374.00 ↓ -71%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NLFH CIGNA ALTERNATIVE $2,375.85 ↓ -71%
HEALTHLINK [125] NLFH SEIU HEALTHLINK $3,151.00 ↓ -61%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NLFH HFN PLATINUM/CHC ELITE $4,026.98 ↓ -51%
THE ALLIANCE [1703] NLFH THE ALLIANCE $4,047.77 ↓ -50%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NLFH CIGNA BROAD $4,083.70 ↓ -50%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NLFH PHCS $5,041.60 ↓ -38%
BEECHSTREET [176] NLFH PHCS $5,041.60 ↓ -38%
FIRST HEALTH PLAN [6034] NLFH FIRST HEALTH $5,167.64 ↓ -36%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NLFH HFN PPO $5,671.80 ↓ -30%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BC LAKE COUNTY PHYS ASSOC IPA $6,302.00 ↓ -23%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NLFH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $6,302.00 ↓ -23%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS PAR/INDEMNITY ADP $6,302.00 ↓ -23%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NLFH UHC NON-CONTRACTED OON - ED ONLY $6,302.00 ↓ -23%
GLOBAL EXCEL [1712] NLFH MEDICARE not published by hospital
HUMANA HEALTH PLAN [130] NLFH ADVOCATE IPA 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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Egd varices ligation at other Illinois hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MercyOne Genesis Silvis Medical Center Silvis $552.00 $846.40 – $988.61
MercyOne Genesis Aledo Medical Center Aledo $552.00 $2,677.41 – $2,970.16
UnityPoint Health - Trinity Moline Rock Island $620.80 $218.38 – $1,475.78
OSF Little Company of Mary Medical Center Evergreen Park $3,036.00 $1,471.00 – $3,824.79
OSF Saint Francis Medical Center Peoria $4,223.40 $273.97 – $6,990.77
Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital IL 60190 $9,638.03 not published
Northwestern Medicine Valley West Hospital Sandwich $4,797.30 $256.60 – $256.60
Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital Geneva $6,688.23 not published

All Illinois hospitals for this procedure →