Ablation cardiac vagal inputs atrium at UPMC Altoona

620 Howard Avenue, Altoona, PA · UPMC · · NPI 112418570

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published unknown · Ingested Aug 12, 2026

$293.40

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.

$489.00

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.

$34.89 with UPMC Health Plan vs $391.20 with Private Health Care Systems — 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
UPMC Health Plan CHIP $34.89 ↓ -88%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $38.01 ↓ -87%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicare $152.12 ↓ -48%
UPMC Health Plan Partners/Select $154.63 ↓ -47%
United Healthcare Medicare $159.61 ↓ -46%
PA Health & Wellness Allwell Medicare Advantage DSNP/Medicare Advantage (Allwell by Wellcare) $161.10 ↓ -45%
Cigna Medicare $161.10 ↓ -45%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $161.10 ↓ -45%
AmeriHealth Caritas Medicare $161.10 ↓ -45%
Cigna Commercial $244.50 ↓ -17%
Highmark BCBS of PA Community Blue Medicare Advantage/Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage/Together Blue Medicare Advantage $244.50 ↓ -17%
Preferred Healthcare System PPO $244.50 ↓ -17%
United Healthcare Commercial $250.66 ↓ -15%
Aetna Commercial $259.17 ↓ -12%
Geisinger Medicaid $268.95 ↓ -8%
PA Health & Wellness Community Health Choices/PA Medicaid HMO $268.95 ↓ -8%
Geisinger Commercial $268.95 ↓ -8%
Private Health Care Systems PPO $391.20 ↑ +33%
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp not published by hospital
Tricare East Region not published by hospital
US Family Health Plan Tricare Prime not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

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Ablation cardiac vagal inputs atrium at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Carlisle Carlisle $1,960.80 $34.89 – $2,777.80
UPMC Community Osteopathic Harrisburg $1,960.80 $34.89 – $399.50
UPMC Hamot Erie $454.20 $0.04 – $185.93
UPMC Hanover Hanover $1,960.80 $34.89 – $239.15
UPMC Lititz Lititz $1,960.80 $34.89 – $240.43
UPMC Memorial York $1,960.80 $34.89 – $496.96
UPMC Passavant-McCandless Pittsburgh $265.80 $50.63 – $164.09
UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh $377.40 $56.41 – $164.09

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →