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Creatine - sendout at UPMC Mercy

1400 Locust Street, Pittsburgh, PA · UPMC · · NPI 163914308

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

$44.40

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.

$74.00

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.

$3.87 with UPMC Health Plan vs $66.60 with Health Payors Organization — 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 Health Plan Managed Medicare $3.87 ↓ -91%
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $4.58 ↓ -90%
Geisinger Medicaid/CHIP $4.64 ↓ -90%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $4.65 ↓ -90%
UPMC Health Plan EPO Partners/EPO Select Plan/HMO $4.76 ↓ -89%
Aetna of PA Medicare $4.87 ↓ -89%
AmeriHealth Caritas Medicare $5.01 ↓ -89%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $5.01 ↓ -89%
PA Health & Wellness Allwell Medicare Advantage DSNP/Medicare Advantage (Allwell by Wellcare) $5.01 ↓ -89%
Aetna Medicare $5.10 ↓ -89%
Highmark BCBS of PA Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage $8.89 ↓ -80%
Highmark BCBS of PA Managed Care - Social Mission $13.42 ↓ -70%
UPMC Health Plan CHIP $16.86 ↓ -62%
Highmark BCBS of PA Managed Care $17.97 ↓ -60%
Aetna Neighborhood Network $20.65 ↓ -53%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Social Mission Indemnity $21.21 ↓ -52%
Aetna Home Depot Employer Group $22.53 ↓ -49%
Aetna NBR ASO/FI $22.94 ↓ -48%
Cigna New Business ASO $25.16 ↓ -43%
Bravo Medicare $25.90 ↓ -42%
Aetna EBR FI $28.12 ↓ -37%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Indemnity $28.40 ↓ -36%
Cigna Commercial $29.60 ↓ -33%
Aetna EBR ASO $29.60 ↓ -33%
Coventry/First Health Commercial $32.56 ↓ -27%
InterGroup PPO $37.00 ↓ -17%
PA Health & Wellness Community Health Choices/PA Medicaid HMO $40.70 ↓ -8%
Cigna Behavioral Health Commercial $44.40 ↑ +0%
Private Health Care Systems PPO $55.50 ↑ +25%
InterGroup Approved National Affiliated PPO Business $59.20 ↑ +33%
American Healthcare Group Commercial $59.20 ↑ +33%
National Provider Network PPO $60.68 ↑ +37%
Multiplan PPO (inc. Auto and Worker's Compensation) $66.60 ↑ +50%
Health Payors Organization Commercial $66.60 ↑ +50%

Visitor-reported prices

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Creatine - sendout at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Passavant-McCandless Pittsburgh $49.20 $4.31 – $69.70
UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh $60.60 $3.40 – $85.85
UPMC St. Margaret Pittsburgh $42.60 $4.01 – $60.35
UPMC Muncy Muncy $45.60 $3.62 – $60.80
UPMC Northwest Seneca $31.80 $4.21 – $45.05
UPMC Williamsport Williamsport $45.60 $3.62 – $60.80

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →