Esophagoscopy flex biopsy at Northwestern Medicine Valley West Hospital

1302 N. Main Street, Sandwich, IL · Nm · · NPI 1184705931

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

$9,375.11

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.

Full explanation →

What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$13,393.01

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.

Full explanation →

The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$256.20 with BLUE CROSS MEDICAID [1612] vs $3,001.00 with UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
?

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 $256.20 ↓ -97%
MERIDIAN HEALTH PLAN HMO [1604] VWH ILLINOIS MEDICAID $256.20 ↓ -97%
FAMILY HEALTH NETWORK HMO [1610] VWH ILLINOIS MEDICAID $256.20 ↓ -97%
CIGNA HEALTHSPRING SPECIALCARE OF IL [1608] VWH ILLINOIS MEDICAID $256.20 ↓ -97%
HEALTH ALLIANCE MEDICAID [1310] VWH ILLINOIS MEDICAID $256.20 ↓ -97%
COUNTYCARE IL COOK CO [1607] VWH ILLINOIS MEDICAID $256.20 ↓ -97%
ALTERNATE HUMANA MEDICARE ADV [2409] VWH MEDICARE $570.19 ↓ -94%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS MEDICARE ADV [2304] VWH BLUE CROSS MEDICARE ADVT $570.19 ↓ -94%
GLOBAL EXCEL [1712] VWH MEDICARE $570.19 ↓ -94%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] VWH AETNA NM EMPLOYEES $762.25 ↓ -92%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] VWH AETNA IL PREFERRED $1,044.35 ↓ -89%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] VWH HFN NMH TIER ONE $1,350.45 ↓ -86%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] VWH CIGNA ALTERNATIVE $1,359.45 ↓ -85%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] VWH CIGNA BROAD $1,449.48 ↓ -85%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] VWH UHC CORE $1,506.50 ↓ -84%
THE ALLIANCE [1703] VWH THE ALLIANCE $1,631.04 ↓ -83%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] VWH BCBS PAR/INDEMNITY ADP $1,677.56 ↓ -82%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] VWH BCBS BLUECHOICE SELECT $1,812.60 ↓ -81%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] VWH BCBS BLUECHOICE OPTIONS $1,812.60 ↓ -81%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] VWH BCBS BLUECHOICE PREFERRED $1,890.63 ↓ -80%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] VWH BCBS HMO $1,955.15 ↓ -79%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] VWH BCBS HMO $1,955.15 ↓ -79%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] VWH AETNA $1,962.65 ↓ -79%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] VWH UHC HMO/PPO $2,007.67 ↓ -79%
CHOICECARE [177] VWH CHOICE CARE $2,022.67 ↓ -78%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] VWH AETNA ASA $2,079.69 ↓ -78%
HEALTHLINK [125] VWH SEIU HEALTHLINK $2,250.75 ↓ -76%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] VWH BCBS PPO $2,451.82 ↓ -74%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] VWH BCBS PPO $2,451.82 ↓ -74%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] VWH HFN $2,550.85 ↓ -73%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] VWH PHCS $2,550.85 ↓ -73%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] VWH MULTIPLAN $2,625.88 ↓ -72%
FIRST HEALTH PLAN [6034] VWH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $3,001.00 ↓ -68%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] VWH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $3,001.00 ↓ -68%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] VWH UHC NON-CONTRACTED OON - ED ONLY $3,001.00 ↓ -68%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Esophagoscopy flex biopsy at other Illinois hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
MercyOne Genesis Silvis Medical Center Silvis $553.80 $849.16 – $988.61
MercyOne Genesis Aledo Medical Center Aledo $553.80 $2,677.41 – $2,970.16
Northwestern Memorial Hospital Chicago $9,375.11 not published
Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital Downers Grove $2,370.00 $1,867.56 – $6,181.00
UnityPoint Health - Trinity Moline Rock Island $826.40 $91.96 – $1,475.78
Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center Chicago $1,620.00 $1,276.56 – $6,181.00
OSF Little Company of Mary Medical Center Evergreen Park $2,546.40 $1,094.00 – $3,824.79
OSF Saint Francis Medical Center Peoria $3,303.00 $332.77 – $6,990.77

All Illinois hospitals for this procedure →