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CT guidance for needle placement at UPMC Northwest

100 Fairfield Drive, Seneca, PA · UPMC · · NPI 1619069440

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Mar 6, 2026 · Ingested Aug 13, 2026

$1,516.20

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.

$2,527.00

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.

$174.66 with UPMC Health Plan vs $2,147.95 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 $174.66 ↓ -88%
United Healthcare Community Plan for Families Unison Kids $182.60 ↓ -88%
Aetna Medicaid $190.54 ↓ -87%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicaid $235.47 ↓ -84%
AmeriHealth Caritas Community HealthChoices (CHC)/Medicaid $247.87 ↓ -84%
PA Health & Wellness PA Medicaid HMO $270.59 ↓ -82%
UPMC Work Partners Workers Comp $468.73 ↓ -69%
Aetna Medicare $631.75 ↓ -58%
UPMC Health Plan Commercial $861.99 ↓ -43%
Aetna EBR ASO $1,010.80 ↓ -33%
Cigna Commercial $1,010.80 ↓ -33%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Social Mission Indemnity/Managed Care - Social Mission $1,086.24 ↓ -28%
Highmark Wholecare (prev Gateway) Medicare $1,263.50 ↓ -17%
Highmark BCBS of PA Commercial - Indemnity/Managed Care $1,338.33 ↓ -12%
Aetna EBR FI $1,465.66 ↓ -3%
Aetna Neighborhood Network $1,516.20 ↑ +0%
Aetna Home Depot Employer Group $1,559.16 ↑ +3%
Aetna NBR ASO/FI $1,592.01 ↑ +5%
Cigna New Business ASO $1,592.01 ↑ +5%
InterGroup PPO $1,642.55 ↑ +8%
Coventry/First Health Commercial $1,768.90 ↑ +17%
Health Coalition Partners PPO $1,819.44 ↑ +20%
Private Health Care Systems PPO $2,021.60 ↑ +33%
Humana Commercial $2,147.95 ↑ +42%

Visitor-reported prices

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CT guidance for needle placement at other Pennsylvania hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
UPMC Passavant-McCandless Pittsburgh $2,179.20 $174.66 – $3,087.20
UPMC Mercy Pittsburgh $2,065.20 $174.66 – $3,097.80
UPMC Muncy Muncy $2,904.60 $130.88 – $3,872.80
UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh $3,498.00 $122.70 – $4,955.50
UPMC Somerset Somerset $914.40 $97.66 – $468.73
UPMC St. Margaret Pittsburgh $2,235.00 $174.66 – $3,166.25
UPMC Wellsboro Wellsboro $3,512.00 $130.88 – $3,951.00
UPMC Williamsport Williamsport $2,904.60 $130.88 – $3,872.80

All Pennsylvania hospitals for this procedure →