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Methylene blue (antidote) 5 mg/ml intravenous solution 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

$4.00

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.

$5.00

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.

$0.54 with Highmark BCBS of PA vs $14.98 with UPMC Health Plan — 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 $0.54 ↓ -87%
Aetna Neighborhood Network $1.26 ↓ -69%
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $1.29 ↓ -68%
Aetna Home Depot Employer Group $1.37 ↓ -66%
Aetna NBR ASO/FI $1.40 ↓ -65%
Cigna New Business ASO $1.40 ↓ -65%
Highmark BCBS of PA Managed Care - Social Mission $1.57 ↓ -61%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Social Mission Indemnity $1.58 ↓ -61%
Aetna EBR FI $1.90 ↓ -53%
Aetna EBR ASO $2.00 ↓ -50%
Cigna Commercial $2.00 ↓ -50%
Highmark BCBS of PA Managed Care $2.10 ↓ -48%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Indemnity $2.11 ↓ -47%
PA Health & Wellness PA Medicaid HMO $2.75 ↓ -31%
Coventry/First Health Commercial $3.50 ↓ -13%
Private Health Care Systems PPO $4.00 ↑ +0%
SelectCare Commercial $4.00 ↑ +0%
Highmark BCBS of PA UPMC Emergent $4.20 ↑ +5%
Humana Commercial $4.25 ↑ +6%
UPMC Health Plan Managed Medicare $7.54 ↑ +89%
Aetna of PA Medicare $9.17 ↑ +129%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $9.43 ↑ +136%
PA Health & Wellness Allwell Medicare Advantage DSNP/Medicare Advantage (Allwell by Wellcare) $9.43 ↑ +136%
Aetna Medicare $9.60 ↑ +140%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $14.98 ↑ +275%
US Family Health Plan Tricare Prime not published by hospital
Tricare East Region not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

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Methylene blue (antidote) 5 mg/ml intravenous solution at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Passavant-McCandless Pittsburgh $1,620.00 $0.54 – $9.60
UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh $2,689.20 $0.54 – $19.74
UPMC Western Psychiatric Pittsburgh $406.80 $0.53 – $9.43
UPMC Muncy Muncy $1,135.20 $2.25 – $13.50
UPMC Somerset Somerset $133.20 $0.53 – $17.25
UPMC Wellsboro Wellsboro $1,135.20 $2.70 – $13.50

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →