Ua w/micro/comp poc at UPMC Altoona

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

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

$4.80

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.

$8.00

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.

$3.97 with UPMC Work Partners vs $8.85 with UPMC Health Plan — 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 $3.97 ↓ -17%
Cigna Commercial $4.00 ↓ -17%
Preferred Healthcare System PPO $4.00 ↓ -17%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicare $4.10 ↓ -15%
United Healthcare Commercial $4.10 ↓ -15%
UPMC Health Plan Partners/Select $4.17 ↓ -13%
Aetna Commercial $4.24 ↓ -12%
United Healthcare Medicare $4.30 ↓ -10%
Health Partners Plans (Jefferson Health Plan) Medicaid/CHIP $4.32 ↓ -10%
Aetna Medicaid $4.32 ↓ -10%
PA Health & Wellness Allwell Medicare Advantage DSNP/Medicare Advantage (Allwell by Wellcare) $4.34 ↓ -10%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $4.34 ↓ -10%
Cigna Medicare $4.34 ↓ -10%
AmeriHealth Caritas Medicare $4.34 ↓ -10%
CBHNP Commercial $4.37 ↓ -9%
Geisinger Commercial $4.40 ↓ -8%
United Healthcare Community Plan for Families PA CHIP/PA Medicaid $4.54 ↓ -5%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicaid $4.75 ↓ -1%
Geisinger Medicaid $6.00 ↑ +25%
Highmark BCBS of PA Community Blue Medicare Advantage/Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage/Together Blue Medicare Advantage $6.10 ↑ +27%
Private Health Care Systems PPO $6.40 ↑ +33%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicaid $6.41 ↑ +34%
AmeriHealth Caritas Community HealthChoices (CHC)/Medicaid $6.74 ↑ +40%
PA Health & Wellness Community Health Choices/PA Medicaid HMO $7.36 ↑ +53%
UPMC Health Plan CHIP $8.12 ↑ +69%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $8.85 ↑ +84%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Ua w/micro/comp poc at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Cole Coudersport $24.00 $2.61 – $32.00
UPMC Community Osteopathic Harrisburg $18.00 $3.98 – $25.50
UPMC Horizon-Greenville Greenville $26.40 $2.26 – $7.54
UPMC Magee Pittsburgh $18.60 $2.36 – $7.36
UPMC McKeesport Mckeesport $22.80 $2.29 – $7.36
UPMC Mercy Pittsburgh $25.80 $2.24 – $6.10
UPMC Passavant-McCandless Pittsburgh $28.20 $2.25 – $6.15
UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh $33.60 $2.38 – $6.72

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →