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Tc-99m sulfur colloid at UPMC St. Margaret
815 Freeport Road, Pittsburgh, PA · UPMC · · NPI 1790795359
$542.40
Cash price 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.
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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
$904.00
Gross charge 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.
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The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$120.62 with Highmark BCBS of PA vs $930.31 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 →
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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 ?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 ?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 | $120.62 | ↓ -78% |
| Aetna | Medicare | $226.00 | ↓ -58% |
| Aetna | Neighborhood Network | $227.81 | ↓ -58% |
| Aetna | Home Depot Employer Group | $247.70 | ↓ -54% |
| Aetna | NBR ASO/FI | $253.12 | ↓ -53% |
| Cigna | New Business ASO | $253.12 | ↓ -53% |
| Aetna | EBR FI | $343.52 | ↓ -37% |
| Highmark BCBS of PA | Managed Care - Social Mission | $347.34 | ↓ -36% |
| Highmark BCBS of PA | Commercial - Social Mission Indemnity | $349.12 | ↓ -36% |
| Aetna | EBR ASO | $361.60 | ↓ -33% |
| Cigna | Commercial | $361.60 | ↓ -33% |
| Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) | Medicare | $452.00 | ↓ -17% |
| Highmark BCBS of PA | Managed Care | $465.16 | ↓ -14% |
| Highmark BCBS of PA | Commercial - Indemnity | $467.57 | ↓ -14% |
| PA Health & Wellness | PA Medicaid HMO | $497.20 | ↓ -8% |
| UPMC Health Plan | Commercial | $514.82 | ↓ -5% |
| Coventry/First Health | Commercial | $632.80 | ↑ +17% |
| Private Health Care Systems | PPO | $723.20 | ↑ +33% |
| SelectCare | Commercial | $723.20 | ↑ +33% |
| Humana | Commercial | $768.40 | ↑ +42% |
| Highmark BCBS of PA | UPMC Emergent | $930.31 | ↑ +72% |
| UPMC Work Partners | Workers Comp | not published by hospital | — |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Tc-99m sulfur colloid at other Pennsylvania hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPMC Mercy | Pittsburgh | $286.80 | $119.48 – $430.20 |
| UPMC Passavant-McCandless | Pittsburgh | $268.80 | $112.00 – $608.82 |
| UPMC Presbyterian | Pittsburgh | $1,296.60 | $120.62 – $1,836.85 |
| UPMC Muncy | Muncy | $158.40 | $39.60 – $237.60 |
| UPMC Northwest | Seneca | $186.00 | $77.50 – $507.70 |
| UPMC Somerset | Somerset | $469.20 | $118.28 – $586.50 |
| UPMC Wellsboro | Wellsboro | $191.20 | $43.02 – $215.10 |
| UPMC Williamsport | Williamsport | $158.40 | $71.28 – $237.60 |