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Potassium serum/plasma/whole blood 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

$39.60

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.

$66.00

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.

$3.97 with UPMC Health Plan vs $59.40 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 $3.97 ↓ -90%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $4.56 ↓ -88%
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $4.70 ↓ -88%
Geisinger Medicaid/CHIP $4.76 ↓ -88%
UPMC Health Plan EPO Partners/EPO Select Plan/HMO $4.88 ↓ -88%
Aetna of PA Medicare $5.00 ↓ -87%
AmeriHealth Caritas Medicare $5.14 ↓ -87%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $5.14 ↓ -87%
PA Health & Wellness Allwell Medicare Advantage DSNP/Medicare Advantage (Allwell by Wellcare) $5.14 ↓ -87%
Aetna Medicare $5.24 ↓ -87%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicaid $6.97 ↓ -82%
United Healthcare Community Plan for Families PA Medicaid $7.29 ↓ -82%
Highmark BCBS of PA Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage $8.96 ↓ -77%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicaid $9.40 ↓ -76%
AmeriHealth Caritas Community HealthChoices (CHC)/Medicaid $10.03 ↓ -75%
PA Health & Wellness Community Health Choices/PA Medicaid HMO $10.80 ↓ -73%
Highmark BCBS of PA Managed Care - Social Mission $13.53 ↓ -66%
UPMC Health Plan CHIP $16.52 ↓ -58%
Highmark BCBS of PA Managed Care $18.12 ↓ -54%
Aetna Neighborhood Network $18.41 ↓ -54%
Aetna Home Depot Employer Group $20.10 ↓ -49%
Aetna NBR ASO/FI $20.46 ↓ -48%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Social Mission Indemnity $21.39 ↓ -46%
Cigna New Business ASO $22.44 ↓ -43%
Bravo Medicare $23.10 ↓ -42%
Aetna EBR FI $25.08 ↓ -37%
Cigna Commercial $26.40 ↓ -33%
Aetna EBR ASO $26.40 ↓ -33%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Indemnity $28.64 ↓ -28%
Coventry/First Health Commercial $29.04 ↓ -27%
InterGroup PPO $33.00 ↓ -17%
Cigna Behavioral Health Commercial $39.60 ↑ +0%
Private Health Care Systems PPO $49.50 ↑ +25%
InterGroup Approved National Affiliated PPO Business $52.80 ↑ +33%
American Healthcare Group Commercial $52.80 ↑ +33%
National Provider Network PPO $54.12 ↑ +37%
Multiplan PPO (inc. Auto and Worker's Compensation) $59.40 ↑ +50%
Health Payors Organization Commercial $59.40 ↑ +50%

Visitor-reported prices

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Potassium serum/plasma/whole blood at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Passavant-McCandless Pittsburgh $102.60 $4.42 – $54.40
UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh $215.40 $4.70 – $305.15
UPMC St. Margaret Pittsburgh $66.60 $4.11 – $94.35
UPMC Muncy Muncy $39.60 $4.70 – $52.80
UPMC Northwest Seneca $34.80 $4.32 – $49.30
UPMC Somerset Somerset $24.00 $4.70 – $24.75
UPMC Wellsboro Wellsboro $47.80 $4.70 – $53.77
UPMC Williamsport Williamsport $39.60 $4.70 – $52.80

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →