Exchange nephrostomy 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

$7,441.55

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.

$10,630.79

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.

$14.80 with UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] vs $6,908.00 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 $14.80 ↓ -100%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NLFH UHC CORE $14.80 ↓ -100%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NLFH AETNA NM EMPLOYEES $1,146.73 ↓ -85%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS HMO $1,463.81 ↓ -80%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] NLFH BCBS HMO $1,463.81 ↓ -80%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE SELECT $1,616.47 ↓ -78%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE OPTIONS $1,616.47 ↓ -78%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE PREFERRED $1,616.47 ↓ -78%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] NLFH BCBS PPO $1,885.88 ↓ -75%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS PPO $1,885.88 ↓ -75%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NLFH CIGNA ALTERNATIVE $2,604.32 ↓ -65%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NLFH AETNA $2,970.44 ↓ -60%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BC LAKE COUNTY PHYS ASSOC IPA $3,108.60 ↓ -58%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NLFH AETNA ASA $3,143.14 ↓ -58%
HEALTHLINK [125] NLFH SEIU HEALTHLINK $3,454.00 ↓ -54%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NLFH HFN PLATINUM/CHC ELITE $4,414.21 ↓ -41%
THE ALLIANCE [1703] NLFH THE ALLIANCE $4,437.01 ↓ -40%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NLFH CIGNA BROAD $4,476.38 ↓ -40%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NLFH PHCS $5,526.40 ↓ -26%
BEECHSTREET [176] NLFH PHCS $5,526.40 ↓ -26%
FIRST HEALTH PLAN [6034] NLFH FIRST HEALTH $5,664.56 ↓ -24%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NLFH HFN PPO $6,217.20 ↓ -16%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NLFH UHC NON-CONTRACTED OON - ED ONLY $6,908.00 ↓ -7%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NLFH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $6,908.00 ↓ -7%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS PAR/INDEMNITY ADP $6,908.00 ↓ -7%
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 nephrostomy cath at other Illinois hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MercyOne Genesis Silvis Medical Center Silvis $3,710.40 $1,319.36 – $3,793.16
Uchicago Medicine Adventhealth Hinsdale Hinsdale $1,150.00 $658.00 – $3,628.95
Advocate Christ Medical Center Oak Lawn $1,720.00 $1,024.40 – $6,071.00
Northwestern Memorial Hospital Chicago $11,636.69 $7.66 – $7.66
Advocate Condell Medical Center Libertyville $1,720.00 $827.40 – $4,681.00
Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital Downers Grove $1,780.00 $851.04 – $6,071.00
UnityPoint Health - Trinity Moline Rock Island $3,998.20 $89.29 – $2,204.00
Uchicago Medicine Adventhealth La Grange La Grange $1,150.00 $658.00 – $3,628.95

All Illinois hospitals for this procedure →