Generator emblem MRI sicd subq 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

$144,243.47

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.

Full explanation →

What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$206,062.10

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.

$20.38 with AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] vs $122.76 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
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NLFH AETNA NM EMPLOYEES $20.38 ↓ -100%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NLFH CIGNA ALTERNATIVE $25.78 ↓ -100%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] NLFH BCBS HMO $26.01 ↓ -100%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS HMO $26.01 ↓ -100%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE PREFERRED $28.73 ↓ -100%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE SELECT $28.73 ↓ -100%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE OPTIONS $28.73 ↓ -100%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] NLFH BCBS PPO $33.51 ↓ -100%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS PPO $33.51 ↓ -100%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NLFH AETNA $52.79 ↓ -100%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NLFH AETNA ASA $55.86 ↓ -100%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NLFH UHC CORE $58.19 ↓ -100%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NLFH CIGNA BROAD $59.66 ↓ -100%
HEALTHLINK [125] NLFH SEIU HEALTHLINK $61.38 ↓ -100%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NLFH UHC HMO/PPO $64.69 ↓ -100%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NLFH HFN PLATINUM/CHC ELITE $78.44 ↓ -100%
THE ALLIANCE [1703] NLFH THE ALLIANCE $78.85 ↓ -100%
FIRST HEALTH PLAN [6034] NLFH FIRST HEALTH $94.53 ↓ -100%
BEECHSTREET [176] NLFH PHCS $98.21 ↓ -100%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NLFH PHCS $98.21 ↓ -100%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NLFH HFN PPO $110.48 ↓ -100%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS PAR/INDEMNITY ADP $122.76 ↓ -100%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NLFH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $122.76 ↓ -100%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NLFH UHC NON-CONTRACTED OON - ED ONLY $122.76 ↓ -100%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BC LAKE COUNTY PHYS ASSOC IPA $122.76 ↓ -100%
ALTERNATE HUMANA MEDICARE ADV [2409] NLFH HUMANA MEDICARE ADVT not published by hospital
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH ADVOCATE IPA not published by hospital
HUMANA HEALTH PLAN [130] NLFH ADVOCATE IPA not published by hospital
GLOBAL EXCEL [1712] NLFH MEDICARE 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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Generator emblem MRI sicd subq at other Illinois hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MercyOne Genesis Silvis Medical Center Silvis $45,000.00 $11,383.36 – $30,948.51
MercyOne Genesis Aledo Medical Center Aledo $45,000.00 $16,007.85 – $16,719.31
Uchicago Medicine Adventhealth Hinsdale Hinsdale $15,964.57 not published
Advocate Christ Medical Center Oak Lawn $37,700.00 $9,025.38 – $28,652.00
Northwestern Memorial Hospital Chicago $98,044.24 not published
Advocate Condell Medical Center Libertyville $36,630.00 $8,108.82 – $30,313.36
Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital Downers Grove $27,133.75 $14,056.39 – $33,668.00
UnityPoint Health - Trinity Moline Rock Island $35,392.00 $11,989.04 – $23,314.48

All Illinois hospitals for this procedure →