Homocysteine at UPMC Altoona

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

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

$199.20

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.

$332.00

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.

$17.71 with UPMC Work Partners vs $265.60 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 $17.71 ↓ -91%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicare $18.27 ↓ -91%
UPMC Health Plan Partners/Select $18.58 ↓ -91%
Aetna Medicaid $18.65 ↓ -91%
Health Partners Plans (Jefferson Health Plan) Medicaid/CHIP $18.65 ↓ -91%
United Healthcare Medicare $19.17 ↓ -90%
AmeriHealth Caritas Medicare $19.35 ↓ -90%
Cigna Medicare $19.35 ↓ -90%
PA Health & Wellness Allwell Medicare Advantage DSNP/Medicare Advantage (Allwell by Wellcare) $19.35 ↓ -90%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $19.35 ↓ -90%
United Healthcare Community Plan for Families PA CHIP/PA Medicaid $19.58 ↓ -90%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicaid $20.52 ↓ -90%
Geisinger Medicaid $25.92 ↓ -87%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicaid $27.66 ↓ -86%
AmeriHealth Caritas Community HealthChoices (CHC)/Medicaid $29.11 ↓ -85%
PA Health & Wellness Community Health Choices/PA Medicaid HMO $31.78 ↓ -84%
Highmark BCBS of PA Community Blue Medicare Advantage/Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage/Together Blue Medicare Advantage $44.78 ↓ -78%
UPMC Health Plan CHIP $108.30 ↓ -46%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $118.01 ↓ -41%
Preferred Healthcare System PPO $166.00 ↓ -17%
Cigna Commercial $166.00 ↓ -17%
United Healthcare Commercial $170.18 ↓ -15%
Aetna Commercial $175.96 ↓ -12%
Geisinger Commercial $182.60 ↓ -8%
Private Health Care Systems PPO $265.60 ↑ +33%

Visitor-reported prices

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Homocysteine at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Bedford Everett $125.40 $6.47 – $188.10
UPMC Carlisle Carlisle $91.20 $17.74 – $129.20
UPMC Cole Coudersport $161.40 $11.65 – $215.20
UPMC Community Osteopathic Harrisburg $91.20 $17.74 – $129.20
UPMC East Monroeville $345.00 $17.71 – $460.00
UPMC Hamot Erie $436.80 $17.71 – $44.78
UPMC Northwest Seneca $114.60 $16.25 – $21.45
UPMC Hanover Hanover $91.20 $17.74 – $28.67

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →