Irradiation of blood product each unit reference at UPMC Altoona

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

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

$98.40

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.

$164.00

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.

$38.05 with Highmark BCBS of PA vs $131.20 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
Highmark BCBS of PA Community Blue Medicare Advantage/Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage/Together Blue Medicare Advantage $38.05 ↓ -61%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicare $38.16 ↓ -61%
UPMC Health Plan Partners/Select $38.79 ↓ -61%
United Healthcare Medicare $40.04 ↓ -59%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $40.41 ↓ -59%
Cigna Medicare $40.41 ↓ -59%
AmeriHealth Caritas Medicare $40.41 ↓ -59%
PA Health & Wellness Allwell Medicare Advantage DSNP/Medicare Advantage (Allwell by Wellcare) $40.41 ↓ -59%
Cigna Commercial $82.00 ↓ -17%
Preferred Healthcare System PPO $82.00 ↓ -17%
United Healthcare Commercial $84.07 ↓ -15%
Aetna Commercial $86.92 ↓ -12%
PA Health & Wellness Community Health Choices/PA Medicaid HMO $90.20 ↓ -8%
Geisinger Commercial $90.20 ↓ -8%
Geisinger Medicaid $90.20 ↓ -8%
UPMC Health Plan CHIP $101.70 ↑ +3%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $110.81 ↑ +13%
Private Health Care Systems PPO $131.20 ↑ +33%
US Family Health Plan Tricare Prime not published by hospital
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp not published by hospital
Tricare East Region 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

Irradiation of blood product each unit reference at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Bedford Everett $238.80 $13.50 – $358.20
UPMC East Monroeville $287.40 $27.98 – $383.20
UPMC Hamot Erie $294.60 $14.66 – $49.63
UPMC Northwest Seneca $63.60 $28.24 – $40.41
UPMC Horizon-Greenville Greenville $112.80 $28.33 – $61.52
UPMC Jameson New Castle $70.20 $2.20 – $40.41
UPMC Magee Pittsburgh $138.00 $29.60 – $41.16
UPMC McKeesport Mckeesport $186.60 $28.72 – $41.16

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →