Carotene 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

$68.05

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.

$216.84

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.

$9.22 with Kaiser vs $162.63 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 $9.22 ↓ -86%
SoundPath Medicare|All Plans $9.22 ↓ -86%
BCBS - Regence Medicare|All Plans $9.22 ↓ -86%
Optum Medicare|All Plans $9.31 ↓ -86%
BCBS - Premera Medicare|All Plans $9.50 ↓ -86%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $9.50 ↓ -86%
BCBS - Regence Commercial|All Plans $9.68 ↓ -86%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|LifeWise Primary Exchange $9.80 ↓ -86%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $9.87 ↓ -85%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $9.96 ↓ -85%
United Medicare|All Plans $9.96 ↓ -85%
Amerigroup Medicare|All Plans $10.05 ↓ -85%
CHPW Medicare|All Plans $10.60 ↓ -84%
Seattle Medical Group Medicare|All Plans $10.60 ↓ -84%
United Commercial|Cascade Care $11.06 ↓ -84%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $11.06 ↓ -84%
United Commercial|Navigate $11.06 ↓ -84%
Uniform Medical Plan Commercial|All Plans $13.83 ↓ -80%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|All Other Plans $13.83 ↓ -80%
Cigna Commercial|All Plans $16.72 ↓ -75%
Sound Family Medicine Commercial|All Plans $17.52 ↓ -74%
Molina Commercial|Marketplace Exchange $17.70 ↓ -74%
Coordinated Care Commercial|Ambetter Exchange $18.26 ↓ -73%
Aetna Commercial|AWH $34.48 ↓ -49%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $40.57 ↓ -40%
First Choice Commercial|All Plans $56.03 ↓ -18%
Aetna Commercial|WEA $68.39 ↑ +0%
Aetna Commercial|Rental $156.13 ↑ +129%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $162.63 ↑ +139%

Visitor-reported prices

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Carotene at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Providence St Joseph Hospital Chewelah $101.50 not published
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $221.90 $9.22 – $33.19
Central Medical Center Seattle $41.60 $7.00 – $7.00
Providence Mount Carmel Hospital Colville $146.30 not published
Providence St Mary Medical Center Walla Walla $33.60 $9.22 – $17.06
Providence Holy Family Hospital Spokane $114.10 $9.22 – $39.36
MultiCare Valley Hospital Spokane Valley $40.80 $3.31 – $16.72
MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital Yakima $25.20 $9.54 – $16.55

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →