Exchange drainage catheter 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

$7,015.69

Cash price

?

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.

$10,022.41

Gross charge

?

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.

$7.40 with UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] vs $4,510.00 with BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
?

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
?

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
?

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 $7.40 ↓ -100%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NLFH UHC CORE $7.40 ↓ -100%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NLFH AETNA NM EMPLOYEES $748.66 ↓ -89%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS HMO $955.67 ↓ -86%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] NLFH BCBS HMO $955.67 ↓ -86%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE SELECT $1,055.34 ↓ -85%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE OPTIONS $1,055.34 ↓ -85%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE PREFERRED $1,055.34 ↓ -85%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] NLFH BCBS PPO $1,231.23 ↓ -82%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS PPO $1,231.23 ↓ -82%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NLFH CIGNA ALTERNATIVE $1,700.27 ↓ -76%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NLFH AETNA $1,939.30 ↓ -72%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BC LAKE COUNTY PHYS ASSOC IPA $2,029.50 ↓ -71%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NLFH AETNA ASA $2,052.05 ↓ -71%
HEALTHLINK [125] NLFH SEIU HEALTHLINK $2,255.00 ↓ -68%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NLFH HFN PLATINUM/CHC ELITE $2,881.89 ↓ -59%
THE ALLIANCE [1703] NLFH THE ALLIANCE $2,896.77 ↓ -59%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NLFH CIGNA BROAD $2,922.48 ↓ -58%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NLFH PHCS $3,608.00 ↓ -49%
BEECHSTREET [176] NLFH PHCS $3,608.00 ↓ -49%
FIRST HEALTH PLAN [6034] NLFH FIRST HEALTH $3,698.20 ↓ -47%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NLFH HFN PPO $4,059.00 ↓ -42%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NLFH UHC NON-CONTRACTED OON - ED ONLY $4,510.00 ↓ -36%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NLFH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $4,510.00 ↓ -36%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS PAR/INDEMNITY ADP $4,510.00 ↓ -36%
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

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Exchange drainage catheter at other Illinois hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Uchicago Medicine Adventhealth Hinsdale Hinsdale $1,100.00 $2,013.15 – $3,331.27
Advocate Christ Medical Center Oak Lawn $2,620.00 $2,064.56 – $6,181.00
Northwestern Memorial Hospital Chicago $8,048.33 $12.50 – $12.50
Advocate Condell Medical Center Libertyville $2,850.00 $2,245.80 – $4,636.00
Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital Downers Grove $2,375.00 $1,871.50 – $6,181.00
UnityPoint Health - Trinity Moline Rock Island $2,018.51 $62.88 – $1,475.78
Uchicago Medicine Adventhealth La Grange La Grange $1,100.00 $2,013.15 – $3,331.27
SSM Health Good Samaritan Hospital - Mt. Vernon Mount Vernon $2,122.45 $2,056.34 – $2,159.15

All Illinois hospitals for this procedure →