CT guidance for needle placement at UPMC McKeesport

1500 Fifth Avenue, Mckeesport, PA · UPMC · · NPI 104370353

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

$2,190.00

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.

$3,650.00

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.

$147.44 with Aetna vs $3,102.50 with Humana — 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 Medicare $147.44 ↓ -93%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicaid $174.66 ↓ -92%
United Healthcare Community Plan for Families PA CHIP/PA Medicaid $174.66 ↓ -92%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicaid $235.47 ↓ -89%
AmeriHealth Caritas Community HealthChoices (CHC)/Medicaid $247.87 ↓ -89%
PA Health & Wellness PA Medicaid HMO $270.59 ↓ -88%
Highmark BCBS of PA Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage $422.51 ↓ -81%
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $468.73 ↓ -79%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $622.24 ↓ -72%
Highmark BCBS of PA Managed Care - Social Mission $884.32 ↓ -60%
Highmark BCBS of PA Managed Care $1,184.32 ↓ -46%
Aetna Neighborhood Network $1,266.55 ↓ -42%
UPMC Health Plan CHIP $1,365.73 ↓ -38%
Aetna Home Depot Employer Group $1,376.05 ↓ -37%
Aetna EBR FI $1,387.00 ↓ -37%
Cigna New Business ASO $1,405.25 ↓ -36%
Aetna NBR ASO/FI $1,405.25 ↓ -36%
Aetna EBR ASO $1,460.00 ↓ -33%
Cigna Commercial $1,460.00 ↓ -33%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Social Mission Indemnity $1,592.89 ↓ -27%
InterGroup PPO $1,825.00 ↓ -17%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $1,825.00 ↓ -17%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Indemnity $2,133.32 ↓ -3%
Cigna Behavioral Health Commercial $2,190.00 ↑ +0%
Coventry/First Health Commercial $2,555.00 ↑ +17%
SelectCare Commercial $2,920.00 ↑ +33%
Private Health Care Systems PPO $2,920.00 ↑ +33%
Humana Commercial $3,102.50 ↑ +42%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

CT guidance for needle placement at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Altoona Altoona $1,565.40 $102.25 – $2,087.20
UPMC Carlisle Carlisle $914.40 $133.95 – $1,295.40
UPMC Cole Coudersport $979.20 $146.14 – $1,305.60
UPMC Community Osteopathic Harrisburg $914.40 $49.60 – $1,840.10
UPMC East Monroeville $2,392.20 $174.66 – $3,189.60
UPMC Hamot Erie $1,166.40 $174.66 – $468.73
UPMC Northwest Seneca $1,516.20 $174.66 – $1,086.24
UPMC Hanover Hanover $914.40 $133.95 – $490.53

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →