ER Visit (level 3) at Northwestern Medicine Valley West Hospital
1302 N. Main Street, Sandwich, IL · Nm · · NPI 1184705931
$1,781.15
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.
$2,544.50
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.
$32.20 with BLUE CROSS MEDICAID [1612] vs $1,924.00 with MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] — 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 MEDICAID [1612] | VWH ILLINOIS MEDICAID | $32.20 | ↓ -98% |
| MERIDIAN HEALTH PLAN HMO [1604] | VWH ILLINOIS MEDICAID | $32.20 | ↓ -98% |
| FAMILY HEALTH NETWORK HMO [1610] | VWH ILLINOIS MEDICAID | $32.20 | ↓ -98% |
| CIGNA HEALTHSPRING SPECIALCARE OF IL [1608] | VWH ILLINOIS MEDICAID | $32.20 | ↓ -98% |
| HEALTH ALLIANCE MEDICAID [1310] | VWH ILLINOIS MEDICAID | $32.20 | ↓ -98% |
| COUNTYCARE IL COOK CO [1607] | VWH ILLINOIS MEDICAID | $32.20 | ↓ -98% |
| ALTERNATE HUMANA MEDICARE ADV [2409] | VWH MEDICARE | $365.56 | ↓ -79% |
| ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS MEDICARE ADV [2304] | VWH BLUE CROSS MEDICARE ADVT | $365.56 | ↓ -79% |
| GLOBAL EXCEL [1712] | VWH MEDICARE | $365.56 | ↓ -79% |
| AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] | VWH AETNA NM EMPLOYEES | $488.70 | ↓ -73% |
| AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] | VWH AETNA IL PREFERRED | $669.55 | ↓ -62% |
| HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] | VWH HFN NMH TIER ONE | $865.80 | ↓ -51% |
| CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] | VWH CIGNA ALTERNATIVE | $871.57 | ↓ -51% |
| CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] | VWH CIGNA BROAD | $929.29 | ↓ -48% |
| THE ALLIANCE [1703] | VWH THE ALLIANCE | $1,045.69 | ↓ -41% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | VWH BCBS PAR/INDEMNITY ADP | $1,075.52 | ↓ -40% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | VWH BCBS BLUECHOICE OPTIONS | $1,162.10 | ↓ -35% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | VWH BCBS BLUECHOICE SELECT | $1,162.10 | ↓ -35% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | VWH BCBS BLUECHOICE PREFERRED | $1,212.12 | ↓ -32% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | VWH BCBS HMO | $1,253.49 | ↓ -30% |
| ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] | VWH BCBS HMO | $1,253.49 | ↓ -30% |
| AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] | VWH AETNA | $1,258.30 | ↓ -29% |
| CHOICECARE [177] | VWH CHOICE CARE | $1,296.78 | ↓ -27% |
| AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] | VWH AETNA ASA | $1,333.33 | ↓ -25% |
| HEALTHLINK [125] | VWH SEIU HEALTHLINK | $1,443.00 | ↓ -19% |
| MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] | VWH PHCS | $1,539.20 | ↓ -14% |
| ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] | VWH BCBS PPO | $1,571.91 | ↓ -12% |
| BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] | VWH BCBS PPO | $1,571.91 | ↓ -12% |
| HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] | VWH HFN | $1,635.40 | ↓ -8% |
| MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] | VWH MULTIPLAN | $1,683.50 | ↓ -5% |
| FIRST HEALTH PLAN [6034] | VWH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS | $1,924.00 | ↑ +8% |
| MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] | VWH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS | $1,924.00 | ↑ +8% |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] | VWH UHC NON-CONTRACTED OON - ED ONLY | not published by hospital | — |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] | VWH UHC HMO/PPO | not published by hospital | — |
| UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] | VWH UHC CORE | not published by hospital | — |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
ER Visit (level 3) at other Illinois hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| MercyOne Genesis Silvis Medical Center | Silvis | $448.20 | $142.40 – $362.68 |
| MercyOne Genesis Aledo Medical Center | Aledo | $448.20 | $134.00 – $312.63 |
| Uchicago Medicine Adventhealth Hinsdale | Hinsdale | $387.50 | $286.38 – $473.89 |
| Advocate Christ Medical Center | Oak Lawn | $660.00 | $418.52 – $2,071.00 |
| Northwestern Memorial Hospital | Chicago | $1,751.05 | not published |
| Advocate Condell Medical Center | Libertyville | $650.00 | $418.52 – $1,948.00 |
| Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital | Downers Grove | $580.00 | $418.52 – $2,071.00 |
| UnityPoint Health - Trinity Moline | Rock Island | $643.64 | $21.67 – $215.41 |