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Knee MRI (with and without contrast) at UPMC Cole

1001 East Second Street, Coudersport, PA · UPMC · · NPI 110485184

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published unknown · Ingested Aug 13, 2026

$1,857.00

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.

$3,095.00

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.

$468.12 with BCBS of Western NY vs $2,599.74 with UPMC Health Plan — 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
BCBS of Western NY Medicare Advantage $468.12 ↓ -75%
Aetna Commercial $798.73 ↓ -57%
Highmark BCBS of PA Community Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage/Together Blue Medicare Advantage $857.93 ↓ -54%
AmeriHealth Caritas Medicare $866.60 ↓ -53%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicare $866.60 ↓ -53%
United Healthcare Medicare $866.60 ↓ -53%
Humana Medicare $875.27 ↓ -53%
AmeriHealth Caritas Community HealthChoices (CHC) $888.26 ↓ -52%
AmeriHealth Caritas Medicaid $888.26 ↓ -52%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicaid $897.55 ↓ -52%
Cigna Medicare $909.93 ↓ -51%
PA Health & Wellness Allwell Medicare Advantage DSNP $935.93 ↓ -50%
PA Health & Wellness Medicare Advantage (Allwell by Wellcare) $935.93 ↓ -50%
Aetna Medicare $943.98 ↓ -49%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicaid $1,238.00 ↓ -33%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Social Mission Indemnity $1,632.00 ↓ -12%
Highmark BCBS of PA Managed Care - Social Mission $1,632.00 ↓ -12%
Geisinger Medicaid $1,702.25 ↓ -8%
PA Health & Wellness Community Health Choices/PA Medicaid HMO $1,702.25 ↓ -8%
United Healthcare Commercial $1,977.00 ↑ +6%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Indemnity $1,987.30 ↑ +7%
Highmark BCBS of PA Managed Care $1,987.30 ↑ +7%
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $1,992.24 ↑ +7%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $2,166.50 ↑ +17%
Geisinger Commercial $2,321.25 ↑ +25%
Galaxy Health Plan Commercial $2,476.00 ↑ +33%
Humana Commercial $2,476.00 ↑ +33%
InterGroup PPO $2,476.00 ↑ +33%
Multiplan PPO/Auto $2,476.00 ↑ +33%
Multiplan Worker's Compensation $2,476.00 ↑ +33%
UPMC Health Plan CHIP $2,599.74 ↑ +40%

Visitor-reported prices

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Knee MRI (with and without contrast) at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Passavant-McCandless Pittsburgh $5,999.40 $316.41 – $8,499.15
UPMC East Monroeville $6,218.40 $341.40 – $8,291.20
UPMC Hamot Erie $2,415.00 $264.38 – $2,817.50
UPMC Carlisle Carlisle $2,713.80 $618.88 – $3,844.55
UPMC Bedford Everett $2,563.20 $122.85 – $3,844.80
UPMC Altoona Altoona $2,604.00 $425.00 – $3,472.00
UPMC Community Osteopathic Harrisburg $2,713.80 $618.88 – $4,391.77
UPMC Hanover Hanover $2,713.80 $618.88 – $3,935.01

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →