Hopd covid-19 spec collect 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

$31.50

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.

$45.00

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.

$3.11 with FAMILY HEALTH NETWORK HMO [1610] vs $45.00 with UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] — 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
FAMILY HEALTH NETWORK HMO [1610] VWH ILLINOIS MEDICAID $3.11 ↓ -90%
COUNTYCARE IL COOK CO [1607] VWH ILLINOIS MEDICAID $3.11 ↓ -90%
CIGNA HEALTHSPRING SPECIALCARE OF IL [1608] VWH ILLINOIS MEDICAID $3.11 ↓ -90%
HEALTH ALLIANCE MEDICAID [1310] VWH ILLINOIS MEDICAID $3.11 ↓ -90%
MERIDIAN HEALTH PLAN HMO [1604] VWH ILLINOIS MEDICAID $3.11 ↓ -90%
BLUE CROSS MEDICAID [1612] VWH ILLINOIS MEDICAID $3.11 ↓ -90%
GLOBAL EXCEL [1712] VWH MEDICARE $8.55 ↓ -73%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS MEDICARE ADV [2304] VWH BLUE CROSS MEDICARE ADVT $8.55 ↓ -73%
ALTERNATE HUMANA MEDICARE ADV [2409] VWH MEDICARE $8.55 ↓ -73%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] VWH AETNA NM EMPLOYEES $11.43 ↓ -64%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] VWH AETNA IL PREFERRED $15.66 ↓ -50%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] VWH HFN NMH TIER ONE $20.25 ↓ -36%
THE ALLIANCE [1703] VWH THE ALLIANCE $24.46 ↓ -22%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] VWH BCBS PAR/INDEMNITY ADP $25.16 ↓ -20%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] VWH BCBS BLUECHOICE SELECT $25.36 ↓ -19%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] VWH BCBS BLUECHOICE PREFERRED $28.40 ↓ -10%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] VWH BCBS HMO $29.32 ↓ -7%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] VWH BCBS HMO $29.32 ↓ -7%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] VWH AETNA $29.43 ↓ -7%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] VWH BCBS BLUECHOICE OPTIONS $30.18 ↓ -4%
CHOICECARE [177] VWH CHOICE CARE $30.33 ↓ -4%
AETNA HEALTH PLAN [171] VWH AETNA ASA $31.19 ↓ -1%
HEALTHLINK [125] VWH SEIU HEALTHLINK $33.75 ↑ +7%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] VWH PHCS $36.00 ↑ +14%
ALTERNATE BLUE CROSS [1402] VWH BCBS PPO $36.68 ↑ +16%
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD [1401] VWH BCBS PPO $36.68 ↑ +16%
HEALTH'S FINEST NETWORK [126] VWH HFN $38.25 ↑ +21%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] VWH MULTIPLAN $39.38 ↑ +25%
MULTIPLAN/PHCS [142] VWH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $45.00 ↑ +43%
FIRST HEALTH PLAN [6034] VWH NON-CONTRACTED PAYORS $45.00 ↑ +43%
UNITED HEALTHCARE [158] VWH UHC NON-CONTRACTED OON - ED ONLY $45.00 ↑ +43%
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] VWH CIGNA ALTERNATIVE not published by hospital
CIGNA HEALTH PLAN [178] VWH CIGNA BROAD not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

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Hopd covid-19 spec collect at other Illinois hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Northwestern Memorial Hospital Chicago $31.50 not published
SSM Health Good Samaritan Hospital - Mt. Vernon Mount Vernon $35.75 not published
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Centralia Centralia $35.75 not published
Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital IL 60190 $31.50 not published
Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital Geneva $31.50 not published
Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital Palos Heights $31.50 not published
Northwestern Medicine Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital Wheaton $31.50 not published
Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital DBA Northwestern Medicine Catherine Gratz Griffin Lake Forest Hospital Lake Forest $31.50 not published

All Illinois hospitals for this procedure →