Colonoscopy w/fb removal at UPMC Altoona

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

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

$1,764.60

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.

$2,941.00

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.

$237.05 with Aetna vs $2,505.28 with UPMC Health Plan — 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 $237.05 ↓ -87%
United Healthcare Community Plan for Families PA CHIP/PA Medicaid $248.90 ↓ -86%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicaid $260.75 ↓ -85%
Geisinger Medicaid $329.48 ↓ -81%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicaid $351.55 ↓ -80%
Health Partners Plans (Jefferson Health Plan) Medicaid/CHIP $357.47 ↓ -80%
AmeriHealth Caritas Community HealthChoices (CHC)/Medicaid $370.06 ↓ -79%
PA Health & Wellness Community Health Choices/PA Medicaid HMO $403.98 ↓ -77%
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 ↓ -59%
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $985.01 ↓ -44%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicare $1,146.37 ↓ -35%
UPMC Health Plan Partners/Select $1,165.25 ↓ -34%
United Healthcare Medicare $1,202.80 ↓ -32%
Cigna Medicare $1,214.04 ↓ -31%
PA Health & Wellness Allwell Medicare Advantage DSNP/Medicare Advantage (Allwell by Wellcare) $1,214.04 ↓ -31%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $1,214.04 ↓ -31%
AmeriHealth Caritas Medicare $1,214.04 ↓ -31%
Cigna Commercial $1,470.50 ↓ -17%
Preferred Healthcare System PPO $1,470.50 ↓ -17%
United Healthcare Commercial $1,507.56 ↓ -15%
Aetna Commercial $1,558.73 ↓ -12%
Geisinger Commercial $1,617.55 ↓ -8%
UPMC Health Plan CHIP $2,299.25 ↑ +30%
Private Health Care Systems PPO $2,352.80 ↑ +33%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $2,505.28 ↑ +42%
US Family Health Plan Tricare Prime not published by hospital
Tricare East Region not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

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Colonoscopy w/fb removal at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Bedford Everett $5,239.80 $248.90 – $7,859.70
UPMC East Monroeville $3,211.80 $260.75 – $4,282.40
UPMC Hamot Erie $3,045.00 $260.75 – $1,634.95
UPMC Horizon-Greenville Greenville $3,080.40 $260.75 – $1,419.79
UPMC Magee Pittsburgh $5,238.60 $260.75 – $1,214.04
UPMC McKeesport Mckeesport $2,985.60 $260.75 – $1,236.52
UPMC Mercy Pittsburgh $3,141.00 $260.75 – $1,236.52
UPMC Passavant-McCandless Pittsburgh $2,346.60 $260.75 – $1,236.52

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →