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Drain cerebro spinal fluid 62272 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

$1,705.20

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.

$2,842.00

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.

$40.70 with UPMC Health Plan vs $3,281.43 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
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicaid $40.70 ↓ -98%
United Healthcare Community Plan for Families PA CHIP/PA Medicaid $40.70 ↓ -98%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicaid $54.87 ↓ -97%
AmeriHealth Caritas Community HealthChoices (CHC)/Medicaid $57.76 ↓ -97%
PA Health & Wellness PA Medicaid HMO $63.06 ↓ -96%
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $208.59 ↓ -88%
Highmark BCBS of PA Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage $550.23 ↓ -68%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicare $570.04 ↓ -67%
Aetna of PA Medicare $693.24 ↓ -59%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $712.98 ↓ -58%
PA Health & Wellness Allwell Medicare Advantage DSNP/Medicare Advantage (Allwell by Wellcare) $713.05 ↓ -58%
Aetna Neighborhood Network $716.18 ↓ -58%
Aetna Medicare $726.25 ↓ -57%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $768.54 ↓ -55%
Aetna Home Depot Employer Group $778.71 ↓ -54%
Aetna NBR ASO/FI $795.76 ↓ -53%
Cigna New Business ASO $795.76 ↓ -53%
Aetna EBR FI $1,079.96 ↓ -37%
Aetna EBR ASO $1,136.80 ↓ -33%
Cigna Commercial $1,136.80 ↓ -33%
Highmark BCBS of PA Managed Care - Social Mission $1,225.07 ↓ -28%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Social Mission Indemnity $1,592.54 ↓ -7%
Highmark BCBS of PA Managed Care $1,640.71 ↓ -4%
Coventry/First Health Commercial $1,989.40 ↑ +17%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Indemnity $2,132.85 ↑ +25%
Private Health Care Systems PPO $2,273.60 ↑ +33%
SelectCare Commercial $2,273.60 ↑ +33%
Humana Commercial $2,415.70 ↑ +42%
Highmark BCBS of PA UPMC Emergent $3,281.43 ↑ +92%
US Family Health Plan Tricare Prime not published by hospital
Tricare East Region not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

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Drain cerebro spinal fluid 62272 at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Passavant-McCandless Pittsburgh $1,756.80 $40.70 – $2,488.80
UPMC Mercy Pittsburgh $1,370.40 $40.70 – $2,055.60
UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh $3,984.60 $40.70 – $5,644.85
UPMC Muncy Muncy $1,260.60 $40.70 – $1,680.80
UPMC Northwest Seneca $3,449.40 $40.70 – $4,886.65
UPMC Somerset Somerset $1,951.80 $40.70 – $2,439.75
UPMC Wellsboro Wellsboro $1,524.80 $40.70 – $1,715.40
UPMC Williamsport Williamsport $1,260.60 $40.70 – $1,680.80

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →