Bronchoscopy treat blockage at UPMC Altoona

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

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

$4,537.80

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.

$7,563.00

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.

$224.00 with Aetna vs $6,050.40 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 $224.00 ↓ -95%
United Healthcare Community Plan for Families PA CHIP/PA Medicaid $235.20 ↓ -95%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicaid $246.40 ↓ -95%
Geisinger Medicaid $311.34 ↓ -93%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicaid $332.19 ↓ -93%
Health Partners Plans (Jefferson Health Plan) Medicaid/CHIP $337.79 ↓ -93%
AmeriHealth Caritas Community HealthChoices (CHC)/Medicaid $349.69 ↓ -92%
PA Health & Wellness Community Health Choices/PA Medicaid HMO $381.74 ↓ -92%
Highmark BCBS of PA Community Blue Medicare Advantage/Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage/Together Blue Medicare Advantage $729.80 ↓ -84%
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $984.47 ↓ -78%
UPMC Health Plan CHIP $2,316.27 ↓ -49%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $2,523.83 ↓ -44%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicare $3,584.66 ↓ -21%
UPMC Health Plan Partners/Select $3,643.71 ↓ -20%
United Healthcare Medicare $3,761.11 ↓ -17%
Preferred Healthcare System PPO $3,781.50 ↓ -17%
Cigna Commercial $3,781.50 ↓ -17%
AmeriHealth Caritas Medicare $3,796.26 ↓ -16%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $3,796.26 ↓ -16%
PA Health & Wellness Allwell Medicare Advantage DSNP/Medicare Advantage (Allwell by Wellcare) $3,796.26 ↓ -16%
Cigna Medicare $3,796.26 ↓ -16%
United Healthcare Commercial $3,876.79 ↓ -15%
Aetna Commercial $4,008.39 ↓ -12%
Geisinger Commercial $4,159.65 ↓ -8%
Private Health Care Systems PPO $6,050.40 ↑ +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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Bronchoscopy treat blockage at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh $5,107.80 $246.40 – $3,866.57
UPMC Community Osteopathic Harrisburg not published $302.40 – $7,348.95
UPMC Hamot Erie not published $246.40 – $5,112.40
UPMC Mercy Pittsburgh not published $246.40 – $3,866.57
UPMC Passavant-McCandless Pittsburgh not published $246.40 – $3,866.57
WellSpan Chambersburg Hospital Chambersburg not published $970.00 – $16,956.65

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →