Herpes simplex virus isolation at UPMC Altoona

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

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

$447.60

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.

$746.00

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.

$33.46 with UPMC Work Partners vs $596.80 with Private Health Care Systems — 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 $33.46 ↓ -93%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicare $34.53 ↓ -92%
UPMC Health Plan Partners/Select $35.10 ↓ -92%
United Healthcare Medicare $36.23 ↓ -92%
AmeriHealth Caritas Medicare $36.57 ↓ -92%
Cigna Medicare $36.57 ↓ -92%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $36.57 ↓ -92%
PA Health & Wellness Allwell Medicare Advantage DSNP/Medicare Advantage (Allwell by Wellcare) $36.57 ↓ -92%
Aetna Medicaid $37.85 ↓ -92%
Health Partners Plans (Jefferson Health Plan) Medicaid/CHIP $37.85 ↓ -92%
United Healthcare Community Plan for Families PA CHIP/PA Medicaid $39.74 ↓ -91%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicaid $41.63 ↓ -91%
Geisinger Medicaid $52.61 ↓ -88%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicaid $56.13 ↓ -87%
AmeriHealth Caritas Community HealthChoices (CHC)/Medicaid $59.09 ↓ -87%
PA Health & Wellness Community Health Choices/PA Medicaid HMO $64.50 ↓ -86%
UPMC Health Plan CHIP $70.22 ↓ -84%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $76.52 ↓ -83%
Highmark BCBS of PA Community Blue Medicare Advantage/Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage/Together Blue Medicare Advantage $90.88 ↓ -80%
Preferred Healthcare System PPO $373.00 ↓ -17%
Cigna Commercial $373.00 ↓ -17%
United Healthcare Commercial $382.40 ↓ -15%
Aetna Commercial $395.38 ↓ -12%
Geisinger Commercial $410.30 ↓ -8%
Private Health Care Systems PPO $596.80 ↑ +33%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Herpes simplex virus isolation at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Bedford Everett $239.40 $12.22 – $359.10
UPMC Carlisle Carlisle $189.00 $28.98 – $242.25
UPMC Cole Coudersport $312.00 $22.01 – $416.00
UPMC Community Osteopathic Harrisburg $189.00 $33.52 – $242.25
UPMC East Monroeville $362.40 $19.32 – $483.20
UPMC Hamot Erie $573.60 $33.46 – $90.88
UPMC Northwest Seneca $186.60 $19.50 – $43.53
UPMC Hanover Hanover $189.00 $28.98 – $54.18

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →