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Mucopolysaccharides at UPMC Altoona

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

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

$280.80

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.

$468.00

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.

$18.00 with Aetna vs $374.40 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
Aetna Medicaid $18.00 ↓ -94%
Health Partners Plans (Jefferson Health Plan) Medicaid/CHIP $18.00 ↓ -94%
United Healthcare Community Plan for Families PA CHIP/PA Medicaid $18.90 ↓ -93%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicaid $19.80 ↓ -93%
Geisinger Medicaid $25.02 ↓ -91%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicaid $26.69 ↓ -90%
AmeriHealth Caritas Community HealthChoices (CHC)/Medicaid $28.10 ↓ -90%
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $28.17 ↓ -90%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicare $29.06 ↓ -90%
UPMC Health Plan Partners/Select $29.54 ↓ -89%
United Healthcare Medicare $30.50 ↓ -89%
PA Health & Wellness Community Health Choices/PA Medicaid HMO $30.68 ↓ -89%
PA Health & Wellness Allwell Medicare Advantage DSNP/Medicare Advantage (Allwell by Wellcare) $30.78 ↓ -89%
Cigna Medicare $30.78 ↓ -89%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $30.78 ↓ -89%
AmeriHealth Caritas Medicare $30.78 ↓ -89%
Highmark BCBS of PA Community Blue Medicare Advantage/Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage/Together Blue Medicare Advantage $54.11 ↓ -81%
UPMC Health Plan CHIP $164.08 ↓ -42%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $178.78 ↓ -36%
Preferred Healthcare System PPO $234.00 ↓ -17%
Cigna Commercial $234.00 ↓ -17%
United Healthcare Commercial $239.90 ↓ -15%
Aetna Commercial $248.04 ↓ -12%
Geisinger Commercial $257.40 ↓ -8%
Private Health Care Systems PPO $374.40 ↑ +33%

Visitor-reported prices

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Mucopolysaccharides at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Northwest Seneca $223.80 $19.80 – $317.05
UPMC Mercy Pittsburgh $236.40 $19.80 – $354.60
UPMC Muncy Muncy $280.80 $19.80 – $374.40
UPMC Passavant-McCandless Pittsburgh $218.40 $19.80 – $309.40
UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh $1,350.00 $18.00 – $1,912.50
UPMC St. Margaret Pittsburgh $222.00 $19.80 – $314.50
UPMC Wellsboro Wellsboro $340.00 $18.00 – $382.50
UPMC Williamsport Williamsport $280.80 $19.80 – $374.40

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →