ER Visit (level 1, minor) at Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital
12251 S. 80th Ave., Palos Heights, IL · Nm · · NPI 1043600026
$979.30
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.
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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
$1,399.00
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.
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The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$91.36 with BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] vs $571.00 with GALAXY HEALTH NETWORK [220] — 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 →
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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 ?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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | PH BCBS BLUECHOICE PREFERRED | $91.36 | ↓ -91% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | PH BCBS BLUECHOICE OPTIONS SELECT | $91.36 | ↓ -91% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | PH BCBS BLUECHOICE OPTIONS | $91.36 | ↓ -91% |
| CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] | PH CIGNA ALTERNATIVE | $106.78 | ↓ -89% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | PH BCBS PPO | $109.63 | ↓ -89% |
| ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] | PH BCBS PPO | $109.63 | ↓ -89% |
| AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] | PH AETNA NM EMPLOYEES | $122.77 | ↓ -87% |
| CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] | PH CIGNA BROAD | $169.02 | ↓ -83% |
| AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] | PH AETNA IL PREFERRED | $193.57 | ↓ -80% |
| ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] | PH BCBS HMO | $223.43 | ↓ -77% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | PH BCBS HMO | $223.43 | ↓ -77% |
| HEALTHLINK [125] | PH SEIU HEALTHLINK | $285.50 | ↓ -71% |
| CARELON BEHAVIORAL HEALTH [159] | PH VALUE OPTIONS BHO | $285.50 | ↓ -71% |
| AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] | PH AETNA | $324.33 | ↓ -67% |
| FIRST HEALTH PLAN [6034] | PH AETNA | $324.33 | ↓ -67% |
| MAGELLAN BEHAVIORAL HLTH [136] | PH MAGELLAN BHS | $342.60 | ↓ -65% |
| THE ALLIANCE [1703] | PH THE ALLIANCE | $366.75 | ↓ -63% |
| MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] | PH MULTIPLAN/PHCS | $399.70 | ↓ -59% |
| FIRST HEALTH PLAN [6034] | PH FIRST HEALTH | $428.25 | ↓ -56% |
| COMPSYCH [112] | PH COMPSYCH | $428.25 | ↓ -56% |
| CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] | PH CIGNA BEHAVIORAL BHS | $456.80 | ↓ -53% |
| BEECHSTREET [176] | PH BEECHSTREET | $456.80 | ↓ -53% |
| HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] | PH HFN | $485.35 | ↓ -50% |
| HEALTH ALLIANCE [181] | PH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS | $571.00 | ↓ -42% |
| AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] | PH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS | $571.00 | ↓ -42% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | PH BCBS PAR/INDEMNITY ADP | $571.00 | ↓ -42% |
| CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] | PH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS | $571.00 | ↓ -42% |
| GLOBAL EXCEL [1712] | PH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS | $571.00 | ↓ -42% |
| HEALTHLINK [125] | PH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS | $571.00 | ↓ -42% |
| MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] | PH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS | $571.00 | ↓ -42% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] | PH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS | $571.00 | ↓ -42% |
| GALAXY HEALTH NETWORK [220] | PH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS | $571.00 | ↓ -42% |
| GLOBAL EXCEL [1712] | PH MEDICARE | not published by hospital | — |
| OPTUM/UNITED BEHAVIORAL HEALTH [157] | PH UBH BHS | not published by hospital | — |
| ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS MEDICARE ADV [2304] | PH MEDICARE | not published by hospital | — |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
ER Visit (level 1, minor) at other Illinois hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| MercyOne Genesis Silvis Medical Center | Silvis | $245.40 | $25.92 – $137.68 |
| MercyOne Genesis Aledo Medical Center | Aledo | $245.40 | $36.00 – $97.28 |
| Uchicago Medicine Adventhealth Hinsdale | Hinsdale | $130.00 | $88.47 – $146.39 |
| Advocate Christ Medical Center | Oak Lawn | $195.00 | $49.25 – $796.00 |
| Northwestern Memorial Hospital | Chicago | $399.70 | not published |
| Advocate Condell Medical Center | Libertyville | $195.00 | $49.25 – $724.00 |
| Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital | Downers Grove | $195.00 | $49.25 – $796.00 |
| UnityPoint Health - Trinity Moline | Rock Island | $170.36 | $10.30 – $35.89 |