Remove ext hem groups 2+ 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

$9,225.59

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.

$13,179.41

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.

$1,451.17 with AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] vs $8,742.00 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 $1,451.17 ↓ -84%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS HMO $1,852.43 ↓ -80%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] NLFH BCBS HMO $1,852.43 ↓ -80%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE OPTIONS $2,045.63 ↓ -78%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE PREFERRED $2,045.63 ↓ -78%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS BLUECHOICE SELECT $2,045.63 ↓ -78%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] NLFH BCBS PPO $2,386.57 ↓ -74%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS PPO $2,386.57 ↓ -74%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NLFH CIGNA ALTERNATIVE $3,295.73 ↓ -64%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NLFH UHC CORE $3,577.00 ↓ -61%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NLFH UHC HMO/PPO $3,975.00 ↓ -57%
HEALTHLINK [125] NLFH SEIU HEALTHLINK $4,371.00 ↓ -53%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NLFH HFN PLATINUM/CHC ELITE $5,586.14 ↓ -39%
THE ALLIANCE [1703] NLFH THE ALLIANCE $5,614.99 ↓ -39%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NLFH CIGNA BROAD $5,664.82 ↓ -39%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NLFH PHCS $6,993.60 ↓ -24%
BEECHSTREET [176] NLFH PHCS $6,993.60 ↓ -24%
FIRST HEALTH PLAN [6034] NLFH FIRST HEALTH $7,168.44 ↓ -22%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NLFH HFN PPO $7,867.80 ↓ -15%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BC LAKE COUNTY PHYS ASSOC IPA $8,742.00 ↓ -5%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NLFH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $8,742.00 ↓ -5%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NLFH BCBS PAR/INDEMNITY ADP $8,742.00 ↓ -5%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NLFH UHC NON-CONTRACTED OON - ED ONLY $8,742.00 ↓ -5%
GLOBAL EXCEL [1712] NLFH MEDICARE 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
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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Remove ext hem groups 2+ at other Illinois hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MercyOne Genesis Silvis Medical Center Silvis $855.60 $1,311.92 – $2,263.43
MercyOne Genesis Aledo Medical Center Aledo $855.60 $2,970.16 – $2,970.16
Northwestern Memorial Hospital Chicago $14,993.68 not published
UnityPoint Health - Trinity Moline Rock Island $1,162.40 $288.10 – $2,133.47
OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center Rockford $3,291.00 $498.70 – $10,410.57
Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital IL 60190 $6,699.70 not published
Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital Geneva $19,464.15 not published
Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital Palos Heights $18,449.93 not published

All Illinois hospitals for this procedure →