Cytopathology cervical/vaginal thin layer manual screening at UPMC Altoona

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

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

$61.20

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.

Full explanation →

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

$102.00

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.

$16.00 with Health Partners Plans (Jefferson Health Plan) vs $147.42 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
Health Partners Plans (Jefferson Health Plan) Medicaid/CHIP $16.00 ↓ -74%
Aetna Medicaid $16.00 ↓ -74%
United Healthcare Community Plan for Families PA CHIP/PA Medicaid $16.80 ↓ -73%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicaid $17.60 ↓ -71%
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $20.02 ↓ -67%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicare $20.66 ↓ -66%
UPMC Health Plan Partners/Select $21.00 ↓ -66%
United Healthcare Medicare $21.68 ↓ -65%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $21.88 ↓ -64%
AmeriHealth Caritas Medicare $21.88 ↓ -64%
Cigna Medicare $21.88 ↓ -64%
PA Health & Wellness Allwell Medicare Advantage DSNP/Medicare Advantage (Allwell by Wellcare) $21.88 ↓ -64%
Geisinger Medicaid $22.24 ↓ -64%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicaid $23.73 ↓ -61%
AmeriHealth Caritas Community HealthChoices (CHC)/Medicaid $24.98 ↓ -59%
PA Health & Wellness Community Health Choices/PA Medicaid HMO $27.27 ↓ -55%
Highmark BCBS of PA Community Blue Medicare Advantage/Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage/Together Blue Medicare Advantage $44.69 ↓ -27%
Preferred Healthcare System PPO $51.00 ↓ -17%
Cigna Commercial $51.00 ↓ -17%
United Healthcare Commercial $52.29 ↓ -15%
Aetna Commercial $54.06 ↓ -12%
Geisinger Commercial $56.10 ↓ -8%
Private Health Care Systems PPO $81.60 ↑ +33%
UPMC Health Plan CHIP $135.30 ↑ +121%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $147.42 ↑ +141%

Visitor-reported prices

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Cytopathology cervical/vaginal thin layer manual screening at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Bedford Everett $61.20 $7.31 – $91.80
UPMC Carlisle Carlisle $48.60 $11.10 – $68.85
UPMC Community Osteopathic Harrisburg $115.20 $16.00 – $135.30
UPMC East Monroeville $61.20 $16.00 – $81.60
UPMC Northwest Seneca $61.20 $17.60 – $21.88
UPMC Hanover Hanover $48.60 $16.00 – $32.42
UPMC Horizon-Greenville Greenville $61.20 $16.00 – $38.02
UPMC Kane Kane $124.20 $17.60 – $87.44

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →