healthcosts.net

Pericardial drain w/cath pq w/ct guid at UPMC Passavant-McCandless

9100 Babcock Boulevard, Pittsburgh, PA · UPMC · · NPI 1225047699

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Mar 7, 2026 · Ingested Aug 13, 2026

$3,314.40

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.

$5,524.00

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.

$131.45 with Highmark BCBS of PA vs $4,695.40 with Private Health Care Systems — 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
Highmark BCBS of PA Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage $131.45 ↓ -96%
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $280.45 ↓ -92%
Highmark BCBS of PA Managed Care - Social Mission $292.67 ↓ -91%
Private Health Care Systems Workers' Comp $326.11 ↓ -90%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Social Mission Indemnity $364.84 ↓ -89%
Highmark BCBS of PA Managed Care $391.96 ↓ -88%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Indemnity $488.63 ↓ -85%
Highmark BCBS of PA UPMC Emergent $783.93 ↓ -76%
Aetna Medicare $1,381.00 ↓ -58%
Cigna New Business ASO $1,878.16 ↓ -43%
Cigna Commercial $2,209.60 ↓ -33%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $2,333.34 ↓ -30%
Health Plan of Upper Ohio Valley Commercial $2,552.09 ↓ -23%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $2,762.00 ↓ -17%
PA Health & Wellness PA Medicaid HMO $3,038.20 ↓ -8%
Coventry/First Health Commercial $3,866.80 ↑ +17%
InterGroup PPO $4,584.92 ↑ +38%
Humana Commercial $4,695.40 ↑ +42%
Multiplan PPO (Includes Workers' Comp) $4,695.40 ↑ +42%
Private Health Care Systems PPO $4,695.40 ↑ +42%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Pericardial drain w/cath pq w/ct guid at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh $5,169.00 $131.45 – $7,322.75

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →