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Microdissection manual 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

$538.20

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.

$897.00

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.

$66.38 with UPMC Health Plan vs $1,268.50 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 Commercial $66.38 ↓ -88%
Aetna Medicare $224.25 ↓ -58%
Aetna Neighborhood Network $226.04 ↓ -58%
Aetna Home Depot Employer Group $245.78 ↓ -54%
Aetna NBR ASO/FI $251.16 ↓ -53%
Cigna New Business ASO $251.16 ↓ -53%
Highmark BCBS of PA Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage $272.43 ↓ -49%
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $321.35 ↓ -40%
Aetna EBR FI $340.86 ↓ -37%
Aetna EBR ASO $358.80 ↓ -33%
Cigna Commercial $358.80 ↓ -33%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $448.50 ↓ -17%
Highmark BCBS of PA Managed Care - Social Mission $473.58 ↓ -12%
PA Health & Wellness PA Medicaid HMO $493.35 ↓ -8%
Coventry/First Health Commercial $627.90 ↑ +17%
Highmark BCBS of PA Managed Care $634.25 ↑ +18%
Private Health Care Systems PPO $717.60 ↑ +33%
SelectCare Commercial $717.60 ↑ +33%
Humana Commercial $762.45 ↑ +42%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Social Mission Indemnity $788.50 ↑ +47%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Indemnity $1,056.02 ↑ +96%
Highmark BCBS of PA UPMC Emergent $1,268.50 ↑ +136%

Visitor-reported prices

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Microdissection manual at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Mercy Pittsburgh $715.80 $65.83 – $1,073.70
UPMC Passavant-McCandless Pittsburgh $1,179.00 $66.22 – $775.20
UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh $505.80 $69.87 – $716.55
UPMC Northwest Seneca $604.20 $66.25 – $855.95
UPMC Somerset Somerset $284.40 $126.71 – $355.50
UPMC Wellsboro Wellsboro $1,058.40 $141.03 – $1,587.60
UPMC Williamsport Williamsport $1,058.40 $141.03 – $1,411.20

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →