Permanent tear duct plug 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

$1,393.26

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.

$1,990.37

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.

$120.81 with AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] vs $727.79 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 $120.81 ↓ -91%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NLFH CIGNA ALTERNATIVE $152.84 ↓ -89%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] NLFH BCBS HMO $154.22 ↓ -89%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS HMO $154.22 ↓ -89%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE PREFERRED $170.30 ↓ -88%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE SELECT $170.30 ↓ -88%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE OPTIONS $170.30 ↓ -88%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] NLFH BCBS PPO $198.69 ↓ -86%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS PPO $198.69 ↓ -86%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NLFH AETNA $312.95 ↓ -78%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BC LAKE COUNTY PHYS ASSOC IPA $327.51 ↓ -76%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NLFH AETNA ASA $331.14 ↓ -76%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NLFH UHC CORE $344.97 ↓ -75%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NLFH CIGNA BROAD $353.71 ↓ -75%
HEALTHLINK [125] NLFH SEIU HEALTHLINK $363.90 ↓ -74%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NLFH UHC HMO/PPO $383.55 ↓ -72%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NLFH HFN PLATINUM/CHC ELITE $465.06 ↓ -67%
THE ALLIANCE [1703] NLFH THE ALLIANCE $467.46 ↓ -66%
FIRST HEALTH PLAN [6034] NLFH FIRST HEALTH $560.40 ↓ -60%
BEECHSTREET [176] NLFH PHCS $582.23 ↓ -58%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NLFH PHCS $582.23 ↓ -58%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NLFH HFN PPO $655.01 ↓ -53%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS PAR/INDEMNITY ADP $727.79 ↓ -48%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NLFH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $727.79 ↓ -48%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NLFH UHC NON-CONTRACTED OON - ED ONLY $727.79 ↓ -48%
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
HUMANA HEALTH PLAN [130] NLFH ADVOCATE IPA not published by hospital
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH ADVOCATE IPA not published by hospital
GLOBAL EXCEL [1712] NLFH MEDICARE not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

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Permanent tear duct plug at other Illinois hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Advocate Christ Medical Center Oak Lawn $196.40 $98.99 – $314.24
Northwestern Memorial Hospital Chicago $278.29 not published
Advocate Childrens Hospital - Park Ridge Park Ridge $144.80 $101.07 – $231.68
Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital McHenry $249.40 not published
Advocate Condell Medical Center Libertyville not published $381.85 – $434.38
Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital Downers Grove not published $619.54 – $705.13
UnityPoint Health - Trinity Moline Rock Island not published $15.71 – $150.00
Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center Chicago not published $623.62 – $709.72

All Illinois hospitals for this procedure →