Ultrasound spinal canal and contents 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

$430.80

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.

$718.00

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.

$107.70 with Univera vs $661.61 with Highmark BCBS of PA — 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
Univera Univera_Medicare_Hamot_2024 $107.70 ↓ -75%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicaid $111.80 ↓ -74%
United Healthcare Community Plan for Families PA CHIP/PA Medicaid $116.89 ↓ -73%
Fidelis Medicare $117.01 ↓ -73%
Aetna Medicare $119.35 ↓ -72%
UPMC Health Plan Partners/Select $119.44 ↓ -72%
Wellcare Medicare Advantage $120.52 ↓ -72%
Aetna Medicaid $121.97 ↓ -72%
BCBS of Western NY Medicare Advantage $122.86 ↓ -71%
United Healthcare Medicare $125.20 ↓ -71%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $126.36 ↓ -71%
PA Health & Wellness Allwell Medicare Advantage DSNP/Medicare Advantage (Allwell by Wellcare) $126.37 ↓ -71%
AmeriHealth Caritas Medicare $126.37 ↓ -71%
Cigna Medicare $126.37 ↓ -71%
Highmark BCBS of PA Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage $136.84 ↓ -68%
Geisinger Medicaid/CHIP $141.27 ↓ -67%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicaid $150.73 ↓ -65%
Health Partners Plans (Jefferson Health Plan) Medicaid/CHIP $153.27 ↓ -64%
AmeriHealth Caritas Community HealthChoices (CHC)/Medicaid $158.67 ↓ -63%
Independent Health Medicare Advantage $166.40 ↓ -61%
PA Health & Wellness Community Health Choices/PA Medicaid HMO $173.21 ↓ -60%
Aetna Commercial $179.50 ↓ -58%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $211.44 ↓ -51%
Cigna NBR ASO/FI $215.40 ↓ -50%
Cigna New Business ASO $215.40 ↓ -50%
Independent Health Commercial $221.61 ↓ -49%
Univera Commercial $236.94 ↓ -45%
United Healthcare Commercial $276.00 ↓ -36%
Cigna EBR $287.20 ↓ -33%
Cigna Commercial $287.20 ↓ -33%
BCBS of Western NY Commercial $306.10 ↓ -29%
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $310.70 ↓ -28%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Indemnity/Commercial - Social Mission Indemnity/Managed Care/Managed Care - Social Mission $413.51 ↓ -4%
InterGroup Health Coalition Partners/PPO $466.70 ↑ +8%
Multiplan PPO (Includes PHCS as a Payer) $502.60 ↑ +17%
Aetna AXA/MMO $502.60 ↑ +17%
Multiplan Complimentary Network Rate (Includes Multiplan as Payer) $574.40 ↑ +33%
InterGroup Beech Street $574.40 ↑ +33%
Highmark BCBS of PA UPMC Emergent $661.61 ↑ +54%
US Family Health Plan Tricare Prime not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

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Ultrasound spinal canal and contents at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Altoona Altoona $777.00 $50.98 – $1,036.00
UPMC Carlisle Carlisle $394.20 $66.78 – $558.45
UPMC Community Osteopathic Harrisburg $394.20 $66.78 – $558.45
UPMC Northwest Seneca $354.00 $91.94 – $295.68
UPMC Hanover Hanover $394.20 $66.78 – $309.43
UPMC Horizon-Greenville Greenville $602.40 $90.77 – $295.68
UPMC Jameson New Castle $595.80 $58.63 – $295.68
UPMC Lititz Lititz $394.20 $66.78 – $301.27

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →