Br punct aspir ea add, l at UPMC Altoona

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

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

$231.60

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.

$386.00

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.

$20.39 with Aetna vs $308.80 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
Aetna Medicaid $20.39 ↓ -91%
United Healthcare Community Plan for Families PA CHIP/PA Medicaid $21.41 ↓ -91%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicaid $22.43 ↓ -90%
Geisinger Medicaid $28.34 ↓ -88%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicaid $30.24 ↓ -87%
Health Partners Plans (Jefferson Health Plan) Medicaid/CHIP $30.75 ↓ -87%
AmeriHealth Caritas Community HealthChoices (CHC)/Medicaid $31.83 ↓ -86%
PA Health & Wellness Community Health Choices/PA Medicaid HMO $34.75 ↓ -85%
Highmark BCBS of PA Community Blue Medicare Advantage/Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage/Together Blue Medicare Advantage $55.76 ↓ -76%
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $63.64 ↓ -73%
UPMC Health Plan CHIP $182.84 ↓ -21%
Cigna Commercial $193.00 ↓ -17%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $193.00 ↓ -17%
Preferred Healthcare System PPO $193.00 ↓ -17%
United Healthcare Commercial $197.86 ↓ -15%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $199.22 ↓ -14%
Aetna Commercial $204.58 ↓ -12%
Geisinger Commercial $212.30 ↓ -8%
Private Health Care Systems PPO $308.80 ↑ +33%

Visitor-reported prices

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Br punct aspir ea add, l at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Bedford Everett $401.40 $21.41 – $602.10
UPMC Carlisle Carlisle $497.40 $25.90 – $9,539.00
UPMC Community Osteopathic Harrisburg $497.40 $26.71 – $704.65
UPMC Northwest Seneca $361.80 $22.43 – $144.73
UPMC Hanover Hanover $497.40 $25.90 – $67.28
UPMC Lititz Lititz $497.40 $18.43 – $66.60
UPMC Magee Pittsburgh $203.40 $20.27 – $68.61
UPMC Memorial York $497.40 $18.43 – $67.28

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →