Tissue culture skin/biopsy at UPMC Hamot

201 State Street, Erie, PA · UPMC · · NPI 1487647590

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Mar 6, 2026 · Ingested Aug 13, 2026

$1,636.80

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.

$2,728.00

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.

$139.08 with UPMC Work Partners vs $2,182.40 with Multiplan — 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
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $139.08 ↓ -92%
Fidelis Medicare $140.73 ↓ -91%
Aetna Medicare $143.54 ↓ -91%
UPMC Health Plan Partners/Select $143.66 ↓ -91%
Independent Health Medicare Advantage $144.95 ↓ -91%
Wellcare Medicare Advantage $144.95 ↓ -91%
Independent Health Commercial $144.95 ↓ -91%
BCBS of Western NY Medicare Advantage $147.77 ↓ -91%
United Healthcare Medicare $150.58 ↓ -91%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $151.97 ↓ -91%
PA Health & Wellness Allwell Medicare Advantage DSNP/Medicare Advantage (Allwell by Wellcare) $151.99 ↓ -91%
AmeriHealth Caritas Medicare $151.99 ↓ -91%
Cigna Medicare $151.99 ↓ -91%
Health Partners Plans (Jefferson Health Plan) Medicaid/CHIP $189.00 ↓ -88%
BCBS of Western NY Commercial $192.78 ↓ -88%
United Healthcare Commercial $193.44 ↓ -88%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicaid $207.90 ↓ -87%
United Healthcare Community Plan for Families PA CHIP/PA Medicaid $217.35 ↓ -87%
Aetna Medicaid $226.80 ↓ -86%
Geisinger Medicaid/CHIP $262.69 ↓ -84%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicaid $280.29 ↓ -83%
AmeriHealth Caritas Community HealthChoices (CHC)/Medicaid $295.05 ↓ -82%
PA Health & Wellness Community Health Choices/PA Medicaid HMO $322.09 ↓ -80%
Highmark BCBS of PA Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage $382.52 ↓ -77%
Univera Univera_Medicare_Hamot_2024 $409.20 ↓ -75%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $542.70 ↓ -67%
Aetna Commercial $682.00 ↓ -58%
Cigna NBR ASO/FI $818.40 ↓ -50%
Cigna New Business ASO $818.40 ↓ -50%
Univera Commercial $900.24 ↓ -45%
Cigna EBR $1,091.20 ↓ -33%
Cigna Commercial $1,091.20 ↓ -33%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Indemnity/Commercial - Social Mission Indemnity/Managed Care/Managed Care - Social Mission $1,155.88 ↓ -29%
InterGroup Health Coalition Partners/PPO $1,773.20 ↑ +8%
Highmark BCBS of PA UPMC Emergent $1,849.39 ↑ +13%
Multiplan PPO (Includes PHCS as a Payer) $1,909.60 ↑ +17%
Aetna AXA/MMO $1,909.60 ↑ +17%
InterGroup Beech Street $2,182.40 ↑ +33%
Multiplan Complimentary Network Rate (Includes Multiplan as Payer) $2,182.40 ↑ +33%

Visitor-reported prices

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Tissue culture skin/biopsy at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Altoona Altoona $1,299.00 $139.08 – $1,732.00
UPMC Bedford Everett $1,359.60 $50.78 – $2,039.40
UPMC Carlisle Carlisle $1,007.40 $139.32 – $1,427.15
UPMC Cole Coudersport $635.40 $53.00 – $847.20
UPMC Community Osteopathic Harrisburg $1,007.40 $139.32 – $1,427.15
UPMC East Monroeville $2,340.60 $139.08 – $3,120.80
UPMC Northwest Seneca $1,296.60 $127.63 – $217.35
UPMC Hanover Hanover $1,007.40 $139.32 – $257.42

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →