Permanent tear duct plug at Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital

4201 Medical Center Drive, McHenry, IL · Nm · · NPI 1427065499

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Apr 1, 2026 · Ingested Sep 17, 2026

$249.40

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.

$356.28

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.

$68.76 with AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] vs $356.28 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] NWR AETNA NM EMPLOYEES $68.76 ↓ -72%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NWR CIGNA ALTERNATIVE $70.19 ↓ -72%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NWR AETNA $104.03 ↓ -58%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NWR AETNA ASA $104.03 ↓ -58%
MERCY CARE HEALTH PLANS [5013] NWR MERCY CARE $108.13 ↓ -57%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NWR CIGNA BROAD $110.09 ↓ -56%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NWR BCBS PPO $120.78 ↓ -52%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] NWR BCBS PPO $120.78 ↓ -52%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NWR AETNA APCN/SP $122.56 ↓ -51%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NWR AETNA IL PREFERRED $126.48 ↓ -49%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NWR BCBS HMO $127.12 ↓ -49%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] NWR BCBS HMO $127.12 ↓ -49%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NWR UHC CORE $168.88 ↓ -32%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NWR BCBS BLUECHOICE SELECT $170.30 ↓ -32%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NWR BCBS BLUECHOICE PREFERRED $170.30 ↓ -32%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NWR BCBS BLUECHOICE OPTIONS $170.30 ↓ -32%
HEALTHLINK [125] NWR SEIU HEALTHLINK $178.14 ↓ -29%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NWR UHC HMO/PPO $187.76 ↓ -25%
CHOICECARE [177] NWR CHOICE CARE $189.54 ↓ -24%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NWR PHCS PPO $224.46 ↓ -10%
THE ALLIANCE [1703] NWR THE ALLIANCE $228.84 ↓ -8%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NWR HFN PLATINUM EPO $249.40 ↑ +0%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NWR HFN PPO $260.08 ↑ +4%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NWR CIGNA BEHAVORIAL BHS $267.21 ↑ +7%
BEECHSTREET [176] NWR BEECHSTREET $285.02 ↑ +14%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NWR NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $356.28 ↑ +43%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NWR BCBS PAR/INDEMNITY ADP $356.28 ↑ +43%
GLOBAL EXCEL [1712] NWR MEDICARE not published by hospital
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS MEDICARE ADV [2304] NWR BLUE CROSS MEDICARE ADVT not published by hospital
ALTERNATE HUMANA MEDICARE ADV [2409] NWR HUMANA MEDICARE ADVT 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 Lake Forest Hospital DBA Northwestern Medicine Catherine Gratz Griffin Lake Forest Hospital Lake Forest $1,393.26 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 →