Excision breast lesion at UPMC Altoona

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

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

not published by hospital

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.

not published by hospital

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.

$773.68 with UPMC Work Partners vs $3,942.82 with AmeriHealth Caritas — 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
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $773.68
Highmark BCBS of PA Community Blue Medicare Advantage/Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage/Together Blue Medicare Advantage $836.96
UPMC Health Plan CHIP $2,654.23
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $2,892.07
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicare $3,723.05
UPMC Health Plan Partners/Select $3,784.38
United Healthcare Medicare $3,906.31
Cigna Medicare $3,942.82
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $3,942.82
PA Health & Wellness Allwell Medicare Advantage DSNP/Medicare Advantage (Allwell by Wellcare) $3,942.82
AmeriHealth Caritas Medicare $3,942.82
Tricare East Region not published by hospital
US Family Health Plan Tricare Prime 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

Excision breast lesion at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Cole Coudersport $666.60 $307.97 – $1,192.92
UPMC Kane Kane $1,841.40 $773.68 – $2,406.08
Uniontown Hospital Uniontown $2,488.00 $3,795.06 – $8,842.49
UPMC Carlisle Carlisle not published $809.67 – $5,861.07
UPMC Community Osteopathic Harrisburg not published $815.52 – $5,805.45
UPMC East Monroeville not published $844.93 – $4,015.84
UPMC Hamot Erie not published $836.96 – $5,309.76
UPMC Hanover Hanover not published $815.52 – $5,852.98

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →