Beta-2 microglobulin at UPMC Altoona

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

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

$87.60

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.

$146.00

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.

$15.99 with UPMC Work Partners vs $116.80 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 Work Partners Workers Comp $15.99 ↓ -82%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicare $16.50 ↓ -81%
UPMC Health Plan Partners/Select $16.77 ↓ -81%
United Healthcare Medicare $17.31 ↓ -80%
AmeriHealth Caritas Medicare $17.47 ↓ -80%
Cigna Medicare $17.47 ↓ -80%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $17.47 ↓ -80%
PA Health & Wellness Allwell Medicare Advantage DSNP/Medicare Advantage (Allwell by Wellcare) $17.47 ↓ -80%
Aetna Medicaid $19.00 ↓ -78%
Health Partners Plans (Jefferson Health Plan) Medicaid/CHIP $19.00 ↓ -78%
United Healthcare Community Plan for Families PA CHIP/PA Medicaid $19.95 ↓ -77%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicaid $20.90 ↓ -76%
Geisinger Medicaid $26.41 ↓ -70%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicaid $28.18 ↓ -68%
AmeriHealth Caritas Community HealthChoices (CHC)/Medicaid $29.66 ↓ -66%
Highmark BCBS of PA Community Blue Medicare Advantage/Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage/Together Blue Medicare Advantage $31.27 ↓ -64%
PA Health & Wellness Community Health Choices/PA Medicaid HMO $32.38 ↓ -63%
Preferred Healthcare System PPO $73.00 ↓ -17%
Cigna Commercial $73.00 ↓ -17%
United Healthcare Commercial $74.84 ↓ -15%
Aetna Commercial $77.38 ↓ -12%
Geisinger Commercial $80.30 ↓ -8%
UPMC Health Plan CHIP $96.99 ↑ +11%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $105.68 ↑ +21%
Private Health Care Systems PPO $116.80 ↑ +33%

Visitor-reported prices

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Beta-2 microglobulin at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Bedford Everett $75.00 $5.84 – $112.50
UPMC Carlisle Carlisle $81.60 $16.02 – $115.60
UPMC Cole Coudersport $111.00 $10.52 – $148.00
UPMC Community Osteopathic Harrisburg $81.60 $16.02 – $96.99
UPMC East Monroeville $241.20 $15.99 – $321.60
UPMC Hamot Erie $165.00 $15.99 – $31.27
UPMC Northwest Seneca $74.40 $14.67 – $21.85
UPMC Hanover Hanover $81.60 $16.02 – $25.89

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →