Placement of seton 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

$11,548.19

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.

$16,497.41

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.

$1,602.56 with AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] vs $9,654.00 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
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NLFH AETNA NM EMPLOYEES $1,602.56 ↓ -86%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NLFH AETNA $1,635.00 ↓ -86%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NLFH UHC CORE $1,788.50 ↓ -85%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NLFH AETNA ASA $1,798.50 ↓ -84%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NLFH UHC HMO/PPO $1,987.50 ↓ -83%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] NLFH BCBS HMO $2,045.68 ↓ -82%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS HMO $2,045.68 ↓ -82%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NLFH CIGNA ALTERNATIVE $3,639.56 ↓ -68%
HEALTHLINK [125] NLFH SEIU HEALTHLINK $4,827.00 ↓ -58%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NLFH HFN PLATINUM/CHC ELITE $6,168.91 ↓ -47%
THE ALLIANCE [1703] NLFH THE ALLIANCE $6,200.76 ↓ -46%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NLFH CIGNA BROAD $6,255.79 ↓ -46%
BEECHSTREET [176] NLFH PHCS $7,723.20 ↓ -33%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NLFH PHCS $7,723.20 ↓ -33%
FIRST HEALTH PLAN [6034] NLFH FIRST HEALTH $7,916.28 ↓ -31%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NLFH HFN PPO $8,688.60 ↓ -25%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BC LAKE COUNTY PHYS ASSOC IPA $9,654.00 ↓ -16%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NLFH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $9,654.00 ↓ -16%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NLFH UHC NON-CONTRACTED OON - ED ONLY $9,654.00 ↓ -16%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS PAR/INDEMNITY ADP $9,654.00 ↓ -16%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS PPO not published by hospital
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE OPTIONS not published by hospital
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] NLFH BCBS PPO 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
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
GLOBAL EXCEL [1712] NLFH MEDICARE not published by hospital
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE SELECT not published by hospital
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE PREFERRED 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

Placement of seton at other Illinois hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MercyOne Genesis Silvis Medical Center Silvis $514.20 $788.44 – $1,447.67
MercyOne Genesis Aledo Medical Center Aledo $514.20 $2,970.16 – $2,970.16
Advocate Christ Medical Center Oak Lawn $3,035.00 $84.00 – $5,488.75
Northwestern Memorial Hospital Chicago $18,673.21 not published
UnityPoint Health - Trinity Moline Rock Island $692.80 $104.32 – $2,133.47
Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center Chicago $3,035.00 $84.00 – $5,488.75
OSF St Joseph Medical Center Bloomington $2,253.00 $2,974.45 – $5,543.00
Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital IL 60190 $14,679.34 not published

All Illinois hospitals for this procedure →