Ultrasound retroperitoneal limited at UPMC Altoona

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

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

$572.40

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.

$954.00

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.

$49.00 with Aetna vs $763.20 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
Aetna Medicaid $49.00 ↓ -91%
United Healthcare Community Plan for Families PA CHIP/PA Medicaid $51.45 ↓ -91%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicaid $53.90 ↓ -91%
Geisinger Medicaid $68.11 ↓ -88%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicaid $72.67 ↓ -87%
Health Partners Plans (Jefferson Health Plan) Medicaid/CHIP $73.89 ↓ -87%
AmeriHealth Caritas Community HealthChoices (CHC)/Medicaid $76.49 ↓ -87%
PA Health & Wellness Community Health Choices/PA Medicaid HMO $83.51 ↓ -85%
Highmark BCBS of PA Community Blue Medicare Advantage/Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage/Together Blue Medicare Advantage $97.12 ↓ -83%
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $118.05 ↓ -79%
UPMC Health Plan CHIP $314.22 ↓ -45%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $342.37 ↓ -40%
Cigna Commercial $477.00 ↓ -17%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $477.00 ↓ -17%
Preferred Healthcare System PPO $477.00 ↓ -17%
United Healthcare Commercial $489.02 ↓ -15%
Aetna Commercial $505.62 ↓ -12%
Geisinger Commercial $524.70 ↓ -8%
Private Health Care Systems PPO $763.20 ↑ +33%
Tricare East Region not published by hospital
US Family Health Plan Tricare Prime 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

Ultrasound retroperitoneal limited at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Bedford Everett $652.20 $36.58 – $978.30
UPMC Carlisle Carlisle $394.20 $64.19 – $558.45
UPMC Cole Coudersport $142.80 $58.20 – $197.83
UPMC Community Osteopathic Harrisburg $394.20 $64.19 – $440.30
UPMC East Monroeville $893.40 $83.73 – $1,191.20
UPMC Hamot Erie $324.00 $66.51 – $240.96
UPMC Northwest Seneca $306.00 $83.73 – $203.12
UPMC Hanover Hanover $394.20 $64.19 – $212.57

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →