Catheter insert artery at UPMC Altoona

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

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

$595.20

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.

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

$992.00

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.

$82.50 with Aetna vs $793.60 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 $82.50 ↓ -86%
United Healthcare Community Plan for Families PA CHIP/PA Medicaid $86.62 ↓ -85%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicaid $90.75 ↓ -85%
Geisinger Medicaid $114.67 ↓ -81%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicaid $122.35 ↓ -79%
Health Partners Plans (Jefferson Health Plan) Medicaid/CHIP $124.41 ↓ -79%
AmeriHealth Caritas Community HealthChoices (CHC)/Medicaid $128.79 ↓ -78%
Highmark BCBS of PA Community Blue Medicare Advantage/Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage/Together Blue Medicare Advantage $130.12 ↓ -78%
PA Health & Wellness Community Health Choices/PA Medicaid HMO $140.60 ↓ -76%
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $267.42 ↓ -55%
UPMC Health Plan CHIP $399.90 ↓ -33%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $435.73 ↓ -27%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $496.00 ↓ -17%
Cigna Commercial $496.00 ↓ -17%
Preferred Healthcare System PPO $496.00 ↓ -17%
United Healthcare Commercial $508.50 ↓ -15%
Aetna Commercial $525.76 ↓ -12%
Geisinger Commercial $545.60 ↓ -8%
Private Health Care Systems PPO $793.60 ↑ +33%

Visitor-reported prices

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Catheter insert artery at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Carlisle Carlisle $391.20 $89.32 – $554.20
UPMC Community Osteopathic Harrisburg $391.20 $104.78 – $554.20
UPMC Hanover Hanover $391.20 $104.78 – $282.87
UPMC Lititz Lititz $391.20 $104.78 – $279.86
UPMC Memorial York $391.20 $104.78 – $282.87
UPMC Somerset Somerset $391.20 $90.75 – $267.42
UPMC Hamot Erie not published $90.75 – $286.17

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →