Apheresis plasma at UPMC Altoona

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

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

$2,918.40

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.

Full explanation →

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

$4,864.00

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.

$75.00 with Aetna vs $3,891.20 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
Aetna Medicaid $75.00 ↓ -97%
United Healthcare Community Plan for Families PA CHIP/PA Medicaid $78.75 ↓ -97%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicaid $82.50 ↓ -97%
Geisinger Medicaid $104.24 ↓ -96%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicaid $111.22 ↓ -96%
Health Partners Plans (Jefferson Health Plan) Medicaid/CHIP $113.10 ↓ -96%
AmeriHealth Caritas Community HealthChoices (CHC)/Medicaid $117.08 ↓ -96%
PA Health & Wellness Community Health Choices/PA Medicaid HMO $127.81 ↓ -96%
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $172.58 ↓ -94%
Highmark BCBS of PA Community Blue Medicare Advantage/Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage/Together Blue Medicare Advantage $1,222.12 ↓ -58%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicare $1,593.80 ↓ -45%
UPMC Health Plan Partners/Select $1,620.06 ↓ -44%
United Healthcare Medicare $1,672.26 ↓ -43%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $1,687.89 ↓ -42%
AmeriHealth Caritas Medicare $1,687.89 ↓ -42%
Cigna Medicare $1,687.89 ↓ -42%
PA Health & Wellness Allwell Medicare Advantage DSNP/Medicare Advantage (Allwell by Wellcare) $1,687.89 ↓ -42%
UPMC Health Plan CHIP $2,007.54 ↓ -31%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $2,187.43 ↓ -25%
Preferred Healthcare System PPO $2,432.00 ↓ -17%
Cigna Commercial $2,432.00 ↓ -17%
United Healthcare Commercial $2,493.29 ↓ -15%
Aetna Commercial $2,577.92 ↓ -12%
Geisinger Commercial $2,675.20 ↓ -8%
Private Health Care Systems PPO $3,891.20 ↑ +33%
Tricare East Region not published by hospital —
US Family Health Plan Tricare Prime not published by hospital —

Visitor-reported prices

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Apheresis plasma at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Community Osteopathic Harrisburg $5,519.40 $98.25 – $7,819.15
UPMC Hamot Erie $4,172.40 $82.50 – $1,965.08
UPMC Magee Pittsburgh $4,390.20 $82.50 – $1,687.89
UPMC McKeesport Mckeesport $5,700.60 $82.50 – $1,719.15
UPMC Mercy Pittsburgh $4,792.80 $82.50 – $1,719.15
UPMC Passavant-McCandless Pittsburgh $3,486.60 $82.50 – $1,719.15
UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh $28,527.60 $82.50 – $1,719.15
UPMC Somerset Somerset $5,519.40 $82.50 – $1,562.86

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →