MRI chest without contrast 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

$1,643.37

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.

$5,236.60

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.

$269.04 with Kaiser vs $3,927.45 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 $269.04 ↓ -84%
SoundPath Medicare|All Plans $269.04 ↓ -84%
Optum Medicare|All Plans $271.73 ↓ -83%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $277.11 ↓ -83%
BCBS - Regence Medicare|All Plans $277.11 ↓ -83%
BCBS - Premera Medicare|All Plans $277.11 ↓ -83%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $287.87 ↓ -82%
United Medicare|All Plans $290.56 ↓ -82%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $290.56 ↓ -82%
Amerigroup Medicare|All Plans $293.25 ↓ -82%
CHPW Medicare|All Plans $309.40 ↓ -81%
Seattle Medical Group Medicare|All Plans $309.40 ↓ -81%
Sound Family Medicine Commercial|All Plans $511.18 ↓ -69%
Molina Commercial|Marketplace Exchange $516.56 ↓ -69%
Cigna Commercial|All Plans $518.84 ↓ -68%
Coordinated Care Commercial|Ambetter Exchange $532.70 ↓ -68%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|LifeWise Primary Exchange $567.22 ↓ -65%
Uniform Medical Plan Commercial|All Plans $605.60 ↓ -63%
Kaiser Commercial|HMO $635.38 ↓ -61%
BCBS - Regence Commercial|All Plans $694.41 ↓ -58%
Kaiser Commercial|PPO $698.97 ↓ -57%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|All Other Plans $819.98 ↓ -50%
United Commercial|Navigate $864.53 ↓ -47%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $910.04 ↓ -45%
United Commercial|Cascade Care $910.04 ↓ -45%
Aetna Commercial|AWH $1,024.69 ↓ -38%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $1,205.51 ↓ -27%
First Choice Commercial|All Plans $1,752.97 ↑ +7%
Aetna Commercial|Rental $3,770.36 ↑ +129%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $3,927.45 ↑ +139%

Visitor-reported prices

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MRI chest without contrast at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Providence St Joseph Hospital Chewelah $1,726.90 not published
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $1,015.68 $276.30 – $1,095.29
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $3,074.40 $265.88 – $838.94
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $1,015.68 $276.30 – $1,060.33
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $1,015.68 $277.07 – $1,095.29
Central Medical Center Seattle $2,560.00 $242.00 – $242.00
Providence Mount Carmel Hospital Colville $2,177.70 not published
Providence St Mary Medical Center Walla Walla $2,193.10 $217.13 – $491.89

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →