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Carotid Artery Ultrasound (Duplex) 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

$1,033.80

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.

$1,723.00

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.

$162.09 with Highmark BCBS of PA vs $1,464.55 with Humana — 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 $162.09 ↓ -84%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicaid $162.65 ↓ -84%
United Healthcare Community Plan for Families PA CHIP/PA Medicaid $162.65 ↓ -84%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicare $198.97 ↓ -81%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicaid $219.28 ↓ -79%
AmeriHealth Caritas Community HealthChoices (CHC)/Medicaid $230.82 ↓ -78%
Aetna of PA Medicare $241.97 ↓ -77%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $248.86 ↓ -76%
PA Health & Wellness Allwell Medicare Advantage DSNP/Medicare Advantage (Allwell by Wellcare) $248.89 ↓ -76%
PA Health & Wellness PA Medicaid HMO $251.98 ↓ -76%
Aetna Medicare $253.50 ↓ -75%
Highmark BCBS of PA Managed Care - Social Mission $423.39 ↓ -59%
Aetna Neighborhood Network $434.20 ↓ -58%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Social Mission Indemnity $469.15 ↓ -55%
Aetna Home Depot Employer Group $472.10 ↓ -54%
Aetna NBR ASO/FI $482.44 ↓ -53%
Cigna New Business ASO $482.44 ↓ -53%
Highmark BCBS of PA Managed Care $567.05 ↓ -45%
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $575.42 ↓ -44%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $618.86 ↓ -40%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Indemnity $628.32 ↓ -39%
Aetna EBR FI $654.74 ↓ -37%
Aetna EBR ASO $689.20 ↓ -33%
Cigna Commercial $689.20 ↓ -33%
Highmark BCBS of PA UPMC Emergent $1,134.10 ↑ +10%
Coventry/First Health Commercial $1,206.10 ↑ +17%
Private Health Care Systems PPO $1,378.40 ↑ +33%
SelectCare Commercial $1,378.40 ↑ +33%
Humana Commercial $1,464.55 ↑ +42%
US Family Health Plan Tricare Prime not published by hospital
Tricare East Region not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

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Carotid Artery Ultrasound (Duplex) at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Passavant-McCandless Pittsburgh $2,764.20 $162.09 – $3,915.95
UPMC Magee Pittsburgh $507.60 $162.09 – $778.32
UPMC Mercy Pittsburgh $1,441.80 $160.56 – $2,162.70
UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh $2,251.20 $143.21 – $3,189.20
UPMC East Monroeville $831.00 $162.09 – $1,108.00
UPMC Hamot Erie $1,007.40 $94.90 – $1,175.30
UPMC Lititz Lititz $788.40 $156.34 – $1,116.90
UPMC Carlisle Carlisle $788.40 $156.34 – $1,116.90

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →