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ER Visit (level 5, high severity) 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

$3,118.80

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.

$5,198.00

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.

$152.61 with UPMC Health Plan vs $4,418.30 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 Medicaid $152.61 ↓ -95%
United Healthcare Community Plan for Families PA CHIP/PA Medicaid $152.61 ↓ -95%
Highmark BCBS of PA Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage $175.87 ↓ -94%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicaid $205.75 ↓ -93%
AmeriHealth Caritas Community HealthChoices (CHC)/Medicaid $216.59 ↓ -93%
PA Health & Wellness PA Medicaid HMO $236.44 ↓ -92%
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $290.02 ↓ -91%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $390.57 ↓ -87%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicare $504.67 ↓ -84%
Highmark BCBS of PA Managed Care - Social Mission $506.42 ↓ -84%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Social Mission Indemnity $509.01 ↓ -84%
Aetna of PA Medicare $613.75 ↓ -80%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $631.22 ↓ -80%
PA Health & Wellness Allwell Medicare Advantage DSNP/Medicare Advantage (Allwell by Wellcare) $631.28 ↓ -80%
Aetna Medicare $642.97 ↓ -79%
Highmark BCBS of PA Managed Care $678.20 ↓ -78%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Indemnity $681.71 ↓ -78%
Aetna Neighborhood Network $1,309.90 ↓ -58%
Highmark BCBS of PA UPMC Emergent $1,356.39 ↓ -57%
Aetna Home Depot Employer Group $1,424.25 ↓ -54%
Aetna NBR ASO/FI $1,455.44 ↓ -53%
Cigna New Business ASO $1,455.44 ↓ -53%
Aetna EBR FI $1,975.24 ↓ -37%
Aetna EBR ASO $2,079.20 ↓ -33%
Cigna Commercial $2,079.20 ↓ -33%
Coventry/First Health Commercial $3,638.60 ↑ +17%
Private Health Care Systems PPO $4,158.40 ↑ +33%
SelectCare Commercial $4,158.40 ↑ +33%
Humana Commercial $4,418.30 ↑ +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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ER Visit (level 5, high severity) at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Passavant-McCandless Pittsburgh $1,798.20 $152.61 – $2,547.45
UPMC Magee Pittsburgh $1,615.20 $152.61 – $2,476.64
UPMC Mercy Pittsburgh $2,410.20 $152.61 – $3,615.30
UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh $3,631.80 $152.61 – $5,145.05
UPMC East Monroeville $1,371.00 $152.61 – $1,828.00
UPMC Hamot Erie $2,165.40 $152.61 – $2,526.30
UPMC Carlisle Carlisle $1,828.80 $65.00 – $2,590.80
UPMC Altoona Altoona $1,449.00 $174.21 – $1,932.00

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →