Abdominal paracentesis w/image guidance at St. Francis Hospital

34515 Ninth Avenue South, Federal Way, WA · Vmfh · · NPI 1093713091

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Feb 28, 2026 · Ingested Sep 17, 2026

$750.07

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.

$2,390.09

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.

$1,043.54 with SoundPath vs $4,675.75 with Aetna — 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
SoundPath Medicare|All Plans $1,043.54 ↑ +39%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $1,043.54 ↑ +39%
Optum Medicare|All Plans $1,053.98 ↑ +41%
BCBS - Premera Medicare|All Plans $1,074.85 ↑ +43%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $1,074.85 ↑ +43%
BCBS - Regence Medicare|All Plans $1,074.85 ↑ +43%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $1,116.59 ↑ +49%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $1,127.02 ↑ +50%
United Medicare|All Plans $1,127.02 ↑ +50%
Amerigroup Medicare|All Plans $1,137.46 ↑ +52%
Seattle Medical Group Medicare|All Plans $1,200.07 ↑ +60%
CHPW Medicare|All Plans $1,200.07 ↑ +60%
Aetna Commercial|Rental $1,720.87 ↑ +129%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $1,792.57 ↑ +139%
Sound Family Medicine Commercial|All Plans $1,982.73 ↑ +164%
Molina Commercial|Marketplace Exchange $2,003.60 ↑ +167%
Coordinated Care Commercial|Ambetter Exchange $2,066.21 ↑ +175%
First Choice Commercial|All Plans $2,092.18 ↑ +179%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|LifeWise Primary Exchange $2,098.39 ↑ +180%
Uniform Medical Plan Commercial|All Plans $2,240.33 ↑ +199%
Kaiser Commercial|HMO $2,246.13 ↑ +199%
Kaiser Commercial|PPO $2,470.92 ↑ +229%
BCBS - Regence Commercial|All Plans $2,568.87 ↑ +242%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|All Other Plans $3,033.43 ↑ +304%
United Commercial|Navigate $3,353.25 ↑ +347%
United Commercial|Cascade Care $3,529.79 ↑ +371%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $3,529.79 ↑ +371%
Aetna Commercial|AWH $3,974.39 ↑ +430%
Cigna Commercial|All Plans $4,556.00 ↑ +507%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $4,675.75 ↑ +523%

Visitor-reported prices

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Abdominal paracentesis w/image guidance at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Providence St Joseph Hospital Chewelah $800.10 not published
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $2,480.64 $1,050.28 – $3,693.82
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $2,401.70 $1,010.69 – $2,572.22
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $2,480.64 $1,050.28 – $3,575.94
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $2,480.64 $1,053.23 – $3,693.82
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia $1,761.76 $1,050.28 – $4,597.63
Providence Mount Carmel Hospital Colville $2,263.80 not published
Providence St Mary Medical Center Walla Walla $1,879.50 $803.23 – $3,568.08

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →