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Aspirate pleura without imaging 32554 at UPMC St. Margaret

815 Freeport Road, Pittsburgh, PA · UPMC · · NPI 1790795359

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

$1,212.00

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.

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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$2,020.00

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.

$298.91 with Highmark BCBS of PA vs $1,782.61 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
Highmark BCBS of PA Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage $298.91 ↓ -75%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicare $508.92 ↓ -58%
Aetna Neighborhood Network $509.04 ↓ -58%
Aetna Home Depot Employer Group $553.48 ↓ -54%
Aetna NBR ASO/FI $565.60 ↓ -53%
Cigna New Business ASO $565.60 ↓ -53%
Aetna of PA Medicare $618.91 ↓ -49%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $636.54 ↓ -47%
PA Health & Wellness Allwell Medicare Advantage DSNP/Medicare Advantage (Allwell by Wellcare) $636.60 ↓ -47%
Aetna Medicare $648.38 ↓ -47%
Highmark BCBS of PA Managed Care - Social Mission $665.51 ↓ -45%
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $747.60 ↓ -38%
Aetna EBR FI $767.60 ↓ -37%
Aetna EBR ASO $808.00 ↓ -33%
Cigna Commercial $808.00 ↓ -33%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $844.25 ↓ -30%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Social Mission Indemnity $865.14 ↓ -29%
Highmark BCBS of PA Managed Care $891.31 ↓ -26%
PA Health & Wellness PA Medicaid HMO $1,111.00 ↓ -8%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Indemnity $1,158.66 ↓ -4%
Coventry/First Health Commercial $1,414.00 ↑ +17%
Private Health Care Systems PPO $1,616.00 ↑ +33%
SelectCare Commercial $1,616.00 ↑ +33%
Humana Commercial $1,717.00 ↑ +42%
Highmark BCBS of PA UPMC Emergent $1,782.61 ↑ +47%
US Family Health Plan Tricare Prime not published by hospital
Tricare East Region not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

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Aspirate pleura without imaging 32554 at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Passavant-McCandless Pittsburgh $1,215.00 $298.91 – $1,721.25
UPMC Mercy Pittsburgh $1,560.60 $296.09 – $2,340.90
UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh $1,401.60 $298.91 – $1,985.60
UPMC Muncy Muncy $1,076.40 $269.10 – $1,435.20
UPMC Northwest Seneca $1,611.00 $534.56 – $2,282.25
UPMC Somerset Somerset $1,861.20 $293.09 – $2,326.50
UPMC Wellsboro Wellsboro $1,076.40 $152.82 – $993.28
UPMC Williamsport Williamsport $1,076.40 $595.22 – $1,435.20

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →