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Tonsillectomy (age 12+) at UPMC East
2775 Mosside Boulevard, Monroeville, PA · UPMC · · NPI 1225323983
not published by hospital
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.
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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
not published by hospital
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.
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The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$725.80 with UPMC Work Partners vs $6,206.98 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 →
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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 ?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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPMC Work Partners | Workers Comp | $725.80 | — |
| Highmark BCBS of PA | Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage | $1,040.78 | — |
| Highmark BCBS of PA | Managed Care - Social Mission | $2,317.34 | — |
| Highmark BCBS of PA | Commercial - Social Mission Indemnity | $3,012.36 | — |
| UPMC Health Plan | Managed Medicare | $3,100.23 | — |
| Highmark BCBS of PA | Managed Care | $3,103.49 | — |
| UPMC Health Plan | EPO Partners/EPO Select Plan/HMO | $3,158.66 | — |
| Aetna of PA | Medicare | $3,246.47 | — |
| United Healthcare | Unison Advantage Non Special Needs | $3,246.47 | — |
| UPMC Health Plan | CHIP | $3,269.06 | — |
| United Healthcare | Medicare | $3,308.31 | — |
| Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) | Medicare | $3,338.92 | — |
| AmeriHealth Caritas | Medicare | $3,339.23 | — |
| Cigna | Medicare | $3,339.23 | — |
| PA Health & Wellness | Allwell Medicare Advantage DSNP/Medicare Advantage (Allwell by Wellcare) | $3,339.23 | — |
| Aetna | Medicare | $3,401.07 | — |
| United Healthcare | Unison Advantage Special Needs | $3,401.07 | — |
| Highmark BCBS of PA | Commercial - Indemnity | $4,034.40 | — |
| Highmark BCBS of PA | UPMC Emergent | $6,206.98 | — |
| US Family Health Plan | Tricare Prime | not published by hospital | — |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Tonsillectomy (age 12+) at other Pennsylvania hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPMC Cole | Coudersport | $461.40 | $213.17 – $1,470.59 |
| UPMC Hamot | Erie | not published | $725.80 – $4,496.91 |
| UPMC Altoona | Altoona | not published | $671.46 – $3,339.23 |
| UPMC Bedford | Everett | not published | $671.46 – $3,339.23 |
| UPMC Community Osteopathic | Harrisburg | not published | $711.55 – $7,348.95 |
| UPMC Hanover | Hanover | not published | $711.55 – $4,956.96 |
| UPMC Memorial | York | not published | $711.55 – $4,975.65 |
| UPMC Mercy | Pittsburgh | not published | $736.81 – $3,401.07 |