Change of windpipe airway 31502 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

$186.82

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.

$595.29

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.

$258.47 with SoundPath vs $4,556.00 with Cigna — 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 $258.47 ↑ +38%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $258.47 ↑ +38%
Optum Medicare|All Plans $261.05 ↑ +40%
BCBS - Premera Medicare|All Plans $266.22 ↑ +43%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $266.22 ↑ +43%
BCBS - Regence Medicare|All Plans $266.22 ↑ +43%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $276.56 ↑ +48%
United Medicare|All Plans $279.15 ↑ +49%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $279.15 ↑ +49%
Amerigroup Medicare|All Plans $281.73 ↑ +51%
Seattle Medical Group Medicare|All Plans $297.24 ↑ +59%
CHPW Medicare|All Plans $297.24 ↑ +59%
Aetna Commercial|Rental $428.61 ↑ +129%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $446.47 ↑ +139%
Sound Family Medicine Commercial|All Plans $491.09 ↑ +163%
Molina Commercial|Marketplace Exchange $496.26 ↑ +166%
Coordinated Care Commercial|Ambetter Exchange $511.77 ↑ +174%
First Choice Commercial|All Plans $511.79 ↑ +174%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|LifeWise Primary Exchange $565.44 ↑ +203%
Kaiser Commercial|HMO $565.48 ↑ +203%
Uniform Medical Plan Commercial|All Plans $603.68 ↑ +223%
Kaiser Commercial|PPO $622.08 ↑ +233%
BCBS - Regence Commercial|All Plans $692.21 ↑ +271%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|All Other Plans $817.40 ↑ +338%
United Commercial|Navigate $830.56 ↑ +345%
United Commercial|Cascade Care $874.29 ↑ +368%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $874.29 ↑ +368%
Aetna Commercial|AWH $984.41 ↑ +427%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $1,158.12 ↑ +520%
Cigna Commercial|All Plans $4,556.00 ↑ +2339%

Visitor-reported prices

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Change of windpipe airway 31502 at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Providence St Luke's Rehabilitation Medical Center Spokane $296.73 $263.93 – $290.33
Providence St Joseph Hospital Chewelah $130.90 not published
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $636.48 $274.27 – $957.11
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $741.30 $263.93 – $671.71
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $636.48 $274.27 – $926.56
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $636.48 $275.04 – $957.11
Central Medical Center Seattle $533.60 not published
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia $544.44 $274.27 – $1,191.29

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →