Exchange biliary drg cath 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

$7,827.13

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.

$11,181.61

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.

$5.56 with UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] vs $6,540.00 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 $5.56 ↓ -100%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NLFH UHC CORE $5.56 ↓ -100%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NLFH AETNA NM EMPLOYEES $1,085.64 ↓ -86%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS HMO $1,385.83 ↓ -82%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] NLFH BCBS HMO $1,385.83 ↓ -82%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE SELECT $1,530.36 ↓ -80%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE OPTIONS $1,530.36 ↓ -80%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE PREFERRED $1,530.36 ↓ -80%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] NLFH BCBS PPO $1,785.42 ↓ -77%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS PPO $1,785.42 ↓ -77%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NLFH CIGNA ALTERNATIVE $2,465.58 ↓ -68%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NLFH AETNA $2,812.20 ↓ -64%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BC LAKE COUNTY PHYS ASSOC IPA $2,943.00 ↓ -62%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NLFH AETNA ASA $2,975.70 ↓ -62%
HEALTHLINK [125] NLFH SEIU HEALTHLINK $3,270.00 ↓ -58%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NLFH HFN PLATINUM/CHC ELITE $4,179.06 ↓ -47%
THE ALLIANCE [1703] NLFH THE ALLIANCE $4,200.64 ↓ -46%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NLFH CIGNA BROAD $4,237.92 ↓ -46%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NLFH PHCS $5,232.00 ↓ -33%
BEECHSTREET [176] NLFH PHCS $5,232.00 ↓ -33%
FIRST HEALTH PLAN [6034] NLFH FIRST HEALTH $5,362.80 ↓ -31%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NLFH HFN PPO $5,886.00 ↓ -25%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NLFH UHC NON-CONTRACTED OON - ED ONLY $6,540.00 ↓ -16%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NLFH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $6,540.00 ↓ -16%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS PAR/INDEMNITY ADP $6,540.00 ↓ -16%
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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Exchange biliary drg cath at other Illinois hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Uchicago Medicine Adventhealth Hinsdale Hinsdale $1,750.00 $1,728.00 – $6,215.65
Advocate Christ Medical Center Oak Lawn $3,325.00 $2,620.10 – $17,439.00
Northwestern Memorial Hospital Chicago $11,136.10 $25.89 – $25.89
Advocate Condell Medical Center Libertyville $4,070.00 $3,207.16 – $9,476.00
Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital Downers Grove $2,555.00 $2,013.34 – $17,439.00
UnityPoint Health - Trinity Moline Rock Island $7,362.84 $117.80 – $4,058.77
Uchicago Medicine Adventhealth La Grange La Grange $1,750.00 $1,728.00 – $6,215.65
SSM Health Good Samaritan Hospital - Mt. Vernon Mount Vernon $4,407.70 $3,836.82 – $4,028.66

All Illinois hospitals for this procedure →