Aluminum - quest 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

$113.57

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.

$361.87

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.

$25.48 with Kaiser vs $271.41 with MultiPlan — 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
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $25.48 ↓ -78%
SoundPath Medicare|All Plans $25.48 ↓ -78%
BCBS - Regence Medicare|All Plans $25.48 ↓ -78%
Optum Medicare|All Plans $25.73 ↓ -77%
BCBS - Premera Medicare|All Plans $26.24 ↓ -77%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $26.24 ↓ -77%
BCBS - Regence Commercial|All Plans $26.75 ↓ -76%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|LifeWise Primary Exchange $27.09 ↓ -76%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $27.26 ↓ -76%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $27.52 ↓ -76%
United Medicare|All Plans $27.52 ↓ -76%
Amerigroup Medicare|All Plans $27.77 ↓ -76%
CHPW Medicare|All Plans $29.30 ↓ -74%
Seattle Medical Group Medicare|All Plans $29.30 ↓ -74%
United Commercial|Cascade Care $30.58 ↓ -73%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $30.58 ↓ -73%
United Commercial|Navigate $30.58 ↓ -73%
Uniform Medical Plan Commercial|All Plans $38.22 ↓ -66%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|All Other Plans $38.22 ↓ -66%
Cigna Commercial|All Plans $46.22 ↓ -59%
Sound Family Medicine Commercial|All Plans $48.41 ↓ -57%
Molina Commercial|Marketplace Exchange $48.92 ↓ -57%
Coordinated Care Commercial|Ambetter Exchange $50.45 ↓ -56%
Aetna Commercial|AWH $95.30 ↓ -16%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $112.11 ↓ -1%
First Choice Commercial|All Plans $154.79 ↑ +36%
Aetna Commercial|WEA $188.82 ↑ +66%
Aetna Commercial|Rental $260.55 ↑ +129%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $271.41 ↑ +139%

Visitor-reported prices

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Aluminum - quest at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Providence St Joseph Hospital Chewelah $100.10 not published
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $97.92 $22.93 – $119.76
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $337.40 $25.48 – $91.73
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $97.92 $22.93 – $115.93
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $97.92 $22.93 – $119.76
Central Medical Center Seattle $114.40 $20.00 – $20.00
Providence Mount Carmel Hospital Colville $193.90 not published
Providence St Mary Medical Center Walla Walla $112.00 $25.48 – $47.14

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →