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Esophagoscopy w/us needle bx 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

$2,344.20

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.

$3,907.00

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.

$588.60 with UPMC Work Partners vs $4,863.34 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
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $588.60 ↓ -75%
Private Health Care Systems PPO $596.00 ↓ -75%
Highmark BCBS of PA Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage $785.10 ↓ -67%
Aetna Neighborhood Network $1,090.05 ↓ -54%
Aetna Home Depot Employer Group $1,189.68 ↓ -49%
Aetna NBR ASO/FI $1,211.17 ↓ -48%
Cigna New Business ASO $1,328.38 ↓ -43%
Bravo Medicare $1,367.45 ↓ -42%
Aetna EBR FI $1,484.66 ↓ -37%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicare $1,507.61 ↓ -36%
Cigna Commercial $1,562.80 ↓ -33%
Aetna EBR ASO $1,562.80 ↓ -33%
Coventry/First Health Commercial $1,719.08 ↓ -27%
Highmark BCBS of PA Managed Care - Social Mission $1,768.21 ↓ -25%
UPMC Health Plan EPO Partners/EPO Select Plan/HMO $1,855.93 ↓ -21%
Aetna of PA Medicare $1,898.98 ↓ -19%
AmeriHealth Caritas Medicare $1,953.23 ↓ -17%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $1,953.23 ↓ -17%
PA Health & Wellness Allwell Medicare Advantage DSNP/Medicare Advantage (Allwell by Wellcare) $1,953.23 ↓ -17%
InterGroup PPO $1,953.50 ↓ -17%
Aetna Medicare $1,989.40 ↓ -15%
PA Health & Wellness Community Health Choices/PA Medicaid HMO $2,148.85 ↓ -8%
Cigna Behavioral Health Commercial $2,344.20 ↑ +0%
Highmark BCBS of PA Managed Care $2,367.89 ↑ +1%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $2,504.78 ↑ +7%
InterGroup Approved National Affiliated PPO Business $3,125.60 ↑ +33%
American Healthcare Group Commercial $3,125.60 ↑ +33%
National Provider Network PPO $3,203.74 ↑ +37%
Multiplan PPO (inc. Auto and Worker's Compensation) $3,516.30 ↑ +50%
Health Payors Organization Commercial $3,516.30 ↑ +50%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Social Mission Indemnity $3,631.50 ↑ +55%
UPMC Health Plan CHIP $3,986.81 ↑ +70%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Indemnity $4,863.34 ↑ +107%
Tricare East Region not published by hospital
US Family Health Plan Tricare Prime not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

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Esophagoscopy w/us needle bx at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Passavant-McCandless Pittsburgh $4,137.60 $535.78 – $5,861.60
UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh $4,856.40 $588.60 – $6,879.90
UPMC Wellsboro Wellsboro $4,128.80 $535.78 – $4,644.90
UPMC Williamsport Williamsport $3,414.00 $535.78 – $4,552.00

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →