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Unlisted procedure microbiology 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

$409.20

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.

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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$682.00

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.

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The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$70.56 with UPMC Health Plan vs $579.70 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.

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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 $70.56 ↓ -83%
Highmark BCBS of PA Complete Blue Medicare Advantage/Freedom Blue Medicare Advantage/Security Blue Medicare Advantage $93.04 ↓ -77%
Highmark BCBS of PA Managed Care - Social Mission $161.73 ↓ -60%
Aetna Medicare $170.50 ↓ -58%
Aetna Neighborhood Network $171.86 ↓ -58%
Aetna Home Depot Employer Group $186.87 ↓ -54%
Aetna NBR ASO/FI $190.96 ↓ -53%
Cigna New Business ASO $190.96 ↓ -53%
Highmark BCBS of PA Managed Care $216.60 ↓ -47%
Aetna EBR FI $259.16 ↓ -37%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Social Mission Indemnity $269.28 ↓ -34%
Aetna EBR ASO $272.80 ↓ -33%
Cigna Commercial $272.80 ↓ -33%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $341.00 ↓ -17%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Indemnity $360.64 ↓ -12%
PA Health & Wellness PA Medicaid HMO $375.10 ↓ -8%
Highmark BCBS of PA UPMC Emergent $433.20 ↑ +6%
Coventry/First Health Commercial $477.40 ↑ +17%
Private Health Care Systems PPO $545.60 ↑ +33%
SelectCare Commercial $545.60 ↑ +33%
Humana Commercial $579.70 ↑ +42%
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

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Unlisted procedure microbiology at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Mercy Pittsburgh $243.00 $69.97 – $364.50
UPMC Passavant-McCandless Pittsburgh $312.00 $70.39 – $442.00
UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh $525.60 $74.27 – $744.60
UPMC Muncy Muncy $368.40 $92.10 – $552.60
UPMC Northwest Seneca $312.00 $70.42 – $442.00
UPMC Somerset Somerset $112.20 $65.26 – $174.95
UPMC Wellsboro Wellsboro $151.20 $34.02 – $170.10
UPMC Williamsport Williamsport $124.80 $56.16 – $187.20

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →