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Culture anaerobic except blood 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

$80.40

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.

$134.00

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.

$8.18 with UPMC Health Plan vs $113.90 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
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicare $8.18 ↓ -90%
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $9.36 ↓ -88%
Aetna of PA Medicare $9.94 ↓ -88%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $10.23 ↓ -87%
PA Health & Wellness Allwell Medicare Advantage DSNP/Medicare Advantage (Allwell by Wellcare) $10.23 ↓ -87%
Aetna Medicare $10.42 ↓ -87%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicaid $11.00 ↓ -86%
United Healthcare Community Plan for Families PA CHIP/PA Medicaid $11.00 ↓ -86%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicaid $14.83 ↓ -82%
AmeriHealth Caritas Community HealthChoices (CHC)/Medicaid $15.61 ↓ -81%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $16.42 ↓ -80%
PA Health & Wellness PA Medicaid HMO $17.04 ↓ -79%
Highmark BCBS of PA Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage $18.46 ↓ -77%
Highmark BCBS of PA Managed Care - Social Mission $32.10 ↓ -60%
Aetna Neighborhood Network $33.77 ↓ -58%
Aetna Home Depot Employer Group $36.72 ↓ -54%
Aetna NBR ASO/FI $37.52 ↓ -53%
Cigna New Business ASO $37.52 ↓ -53%
Highmark BCBS of PA Managed Care $42.99 ↓ -47%
Aetna EBR FI $50.92 ↓ -37%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Social Mission Indemnity $53.44 ↓ -34%
Aetna EBR ASO $53.60 ↓ -33%
Cigna Commercial $53.60 ↓ -33%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Indemnity $71.58 ↓ -11%
Highmark BCBS of PA UPMC Emergent $85.98 ↑ +7%
Coventry/First Health Commercial $93.80 ↑ +17%
Private Health Care Systems PPO $107.20 ↑ +33%
SelectCare Commercial $107.20 ↑ +33%
Humana Commercial $113.90 ↑ +42%

Visitor-reported prices

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Culture anaerobic except blood at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Passavant-McCandless Pittsburgh $259.20 $8.80 – $367.20
UPMC Mercy Pittsburgh $119.40 $7.89 – $179.10
UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh $838.80 $9.36 – $1,188.30
UPMC Muncy Muncy $147.00 $9.36 – $196.00
UPMC Northwest Seneca $105.00 $8.59 – $148.75
UPMC Somerset Somerset $52.80 $9.36 – $66.00
UPMC Wellsboro Wellsboro $177.60 $9.36 – $199.80
UPMC Williamsport Williamsport $147.00 $9.36 – $196.00

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →