Brace oths wrist hnd fngr without at UPMC Altoona

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

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

$170.40

Cash price

?

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.

$284.00

Gross charge

?

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.

$53.96 with Health Partners Plans (Jefferson Health Plan) vs $1,167.52 with UPMC Health Plan — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
?

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
?

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
?

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
Health Partners Plans (Jefferson Health Plan) Medicaid/CHIP $53.96 ↓ -68%
Geisinger Medicaid $93.72 ↓ -45%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicaid $110.76 ↓ -35%
Cigna Commercial $142.00 ↓ -17%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $142.00 ↓ -17%
Preferred Healthcare System PPO $142.00 ↓ -17%
Aetna Commercial $150.52 ↓ -12%
Geisinger Commercial $156.20 ↓ -8%
PA Health & Wellness Community Health Choices/PA Medicaid HMO $156.20 ↓ -8%
Private Health Care Systems PPO $227.20 ↑ +33%
Highmark BCBS of PA Community Blue Medicare Advantage/Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage/Together Blue Medicare Advantage $313.88 ↑ +84%
UPMC Health Plan CHIP $1,071.50 ↑ +529%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $1,167.52 ↑ +585%
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Brace oths wrist hnd fngr without at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Bedford Everett $189.00 $59.85 – $1,071.50
UPMC East Monroeville $68.40 $21.66 – $1,071.50
UPMC Hamot Erie $645.00 $313.88 – $313.88
UPMC Northwest Seneca $642.00 $814.63 – $1,296.62
UPMC Horizon-Greenville Greenville $189.00 $799.94 – $1,071.50
UPMC Jameson New Castle $189.00 $128.89 – $1,071.50
UPMC Magee Pittsburgh $187.20 $141.78 – $1,071.50
UPMC McKeesport Mckeesport $189.60 $141.78 – $1,071.50

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →