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Culture body fluid 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

$250.20

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.

$417.00

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.

$7.44 with UPMC Health Plan vs $354.45 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 $7.44 ↓ -97%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicaid $7.59 ↓ -97%
United Healthcare Community Plan for Families PA CHIP/PA Medicaid $7.59 ↓ -97%
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $8.52 ↓ -97%
Aetna of PA Medicare $9.05 ↓ -96%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $9.31 ↓ -96%
PA Health & Wellness Allwell Medicare Advantage DSNP/Medicare Advantage (Allwell by Wellcare) $9.31 ↓ -96%
Aetna Medicare $9.48 ↓ -96%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicaid $10.23 ↓ -96%
AmeriHealth Caritas Community HealthChoices (CHC)/Medicaid $10.77 ↓ -96%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $10.92 ↓ -96%
PA Health & Wellness PA Medicaid HMO $11.76 ↓ -95%
Highmark BCBS of PA Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage $16.79 ↓ -93%
Highmark BCBS of PA Managed Care - Social Mission $29.19 ↓ -88%
Highmark BCBS of PA Managed Care $39.10 ↓ -84%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Social Mission Indemnity $48.61 ↓ -81%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Indemnity $65.10 ↓ -74%
Highmark BCBS of PA UPMC Emergent $78.20 ↓ -69%
Aetna Neighborhood Network $105.08 ↓ -58%
Aetna Home Depot Employer Group $114.26 ↓ -54%
Aetna NBR ASO/FI $116.76 ↓ -53%
Cigna New Business ASO $116.76 ↓ -53%
Aetna EBR FI $158.46 ↓ -37%
Aetna EBR ASO $166.80 ↓ -33%
Cigna Commercial $166.80 ↓ -33%
Coventry/First Health Commercial $291.90 ↑ +17%
Private Health Care Systems PPO $333.60 ↑ +33%
SelectCare Commercial $333.60 ↑ +33%
Humana Commercial $354.45 ↑ +42%

Visitor-reported prices

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Culture body fluid at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Passavant-McCandless Pittsburgh $235.20 $7.59 – $333.20
UPMC Mercy Pittsburgh $121.20 $7.19 – $181.80
UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh $438.00 $6.90 – $620.50
UPMC Muncy Muncy $232.20 $7.59 – $309.60
UPMC Northwest Seneca $84.60 $7.59 – $119.85
UPMC Somerset Somerset $48.00 $6.90 – $58.50
UPMC Wellsboro Wellsboro $280.80 $6.90 – $315.90
UPMC Williamsport Williamsport $232.20 $7.59 – $309.60

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →