Sodium chloride 0.9 % IV bolus 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

$38.32

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.

$54.75

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.

$3.96 with AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] vs $20.50 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 $3.96 ↓ -90%
MERCY CARE HEALTH PLANS [5013] NWR MERCY CARE $6.22 ↓ -84%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NWR BCBS PPO $6.95 ↓ -82%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] NWR BCBS PPO $6.95 ↓ -82%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NWR AETNA APCN/SP $7.05 ↓ -82%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NWR AETNA IL PREFERRED $7.28 ↓ -81%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NWR BCBS HMO $7.31 ↓ -81%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] NWR BCBS HMO $7.31 ↓ -81%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NWR UHC CORE $9.72 ↓ -75%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NWR BCBS BLUECHOICE OPTIONS $9.80 ↓ -74%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NWR BCBS BLUECHOICE PREFERRED $9.80 ↓ -74%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NWR BCBS BLUECHOICE SELECT $9.80 ↓ -74%
HEALTHLINK [125] NWR SEIU HEALTHLINK $10.25 ↓ -73%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] NWR AETNA ASA $10.76 ↓ -72%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] NWR UHC HMO/PPO $10.80 ↓ -72%
CHOICECARE [177] NWR CHOICE CARE $10.91 ↓ -72%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NWR PHCS PPO $12.92 ↓ -66%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NWR HFN PLATINUM EPO $14.35 ↓ -63%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] NWR HFN PPO $14.97 ↓ -61%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] NWR CIGNA BEHAVORIAL BHS $15.38 ↓ -60%
BEECHSTREET [176] NWR BEECHSTREET $16.40 ↓ -57%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] NWR NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $20.50 ↓ -47%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] NWR BCBS PAR/INDEMNITY ADP $20.50 ↓ -47%
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

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Sodium chloride 0.9 % IV bolus at other Illinois hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Advocate Christ Medical Center Oak Lawn $61.79 $2.23 – $50.36
Northwestern Memorial Hospital Chicago $279.65 not published
Advocate Condell Medical Center Libertyville $61.15 $2.56 – $97.30
Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital Downers Grove $61.28 $2.23 – $97.41
UnityPoint Health - Trinity Moline Rock Island $48.00 $1.04 – $24.57
Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center Chicago $61.44 $2.23 – $97.17
Advocate Childrens Hospital - Park Ridge Park Ridge $61.22 $2.23 – $86.07
Advocate Sherman Hospital Elgin $61.39 $2.56 – $110.14

All Illinois hospitals for this procedure →