Ghs protoporphyrins fract at UPMC Altoona

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

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

$100.80

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.

$168.00

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.

$14.19 with UPMC Work Partners vs $134.40 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
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $14.19 ↓ -86%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicare $14.63 ↓ -85%
UPMC Health Plan Partners/Select $14.88 ↓ -85%
United Healthcare Medicare $15.35 ↓ -85%
AmeriHealth Caritas Medicare $15.50 ↓ -85%
Cigna Medicare $15.50 ↓ -85%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $15.50 ↓ -85%
PA Health & Wellness Allwell Medicare Advantage DSNP/Medicare Advantage (Allwell by Wellcare) $15.50 ↓ -85%
Aetna Medicaid $19.84 ↓ -80%
Health Partners Plans (Jefferson Health Plan) Medicaid/CHIP $19.84 ↓ -80%
United Healthcare Community Plan for Families PA CHIP/PA Medicaid $20.83 ↓ -79%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicaid $21.82 ↓ -78%
Geisinger Medicaid $27.58 ↓ -73%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicaid $29.42 ↓ -71%
AmeriHealth Caritas Community HealthChoices (CHC)/Medicaid $30.97 ↓ -69%
PA Health & Wellness Community Health Choices/PA Medicaid HMO $33.81 ↓ -66%
Highmark BCBS of PA Community Blue Medicare Advantage/Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage/Together Blue Medicare Advantage $39.02 ↓ -61%
Preferred Healthcare System PPO $84.00 ↓ -17%
Cigna Commercial $84.00 ↓ -17%
United Healthcare Commercial $86.12 ↓ -15%
Aetna Commercial $89.04 ↓ -12%
Geisinger Commercial $92.40 ↓ -8%
UPMC Health Plan CHIP $103.54 ↑ +3%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $112.82 ↑ +12%
Private Health Care Systems PPO $134.40 ↑ +33%

Visitor-reported prices

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Ghs protoporphyrins fract at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Bedford Everett $86.40 $5.18 – $129.60
UPMC Carlisle Carlisle $72.60 $14.21 – $102.85
UPMC Cole Coudersport $138.00 $9.33 – $184.00
UPMC Community Osteopathic Harrisburg $72.60 $14.21 – $103.54
UPMC Hamot Erie $222.00 $14.19 – $39.02
UPMC Northwest Seneca $99.00 $13.01 – $22.82
UPMC Hanover Hanover $72.60 $14.21 – $27.02
UPMC Horizon-Greenville Greenville $128.40 $12.85 – $27.58

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →