Rmvl ndwellg tun pleural cath 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

$298.62

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.

$951.55

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.

$511.79 with First Choice vs $3,083.34 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
First Choice Commercial|All Plans $511.79 ↑ +71%
Cigna Commercial|All Plans $656.57 ↑ +120%
Aetna Commercial|Rental $685.12 ↑ +129%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $688.15 ↑ +130%
SoundPath Medicare|All Plans $688.15 ↑ +130%
Optum Medicare|All Plans $695.03 ↑ +133%
BCBS - Premera Medicare|All Plans $708.79 ↑ +137%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $708.79 ↑ +137%
BCBS - Regence Medicare|All Plans $708.79 ↑ +137%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $713.67 ↑ +139%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $736.32 ↑ +147%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $743.20 ↑ +149%
United Medicare|All Plans $743.20 ↑ +149%
Amerigroup Medicare|All Plans $750.08 ↑ +151%
CHPW Medicare|All Plans $791.37 ↑ +165%
Seattle Medical Group Medicare|All Plans $791.37 ↑ +165%
Sound Family Medicine Commercial|All Plans $1,307.48 ↑ +338%
Molina Commercial|Marketplace Exchange $1,321.25 ↑ +342%
Coordinated Care Commercial|Ambetter Exchange $1,362.54 ↑ +356%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|LifeWise Primary Exchange $1,454.21 ↑ +387%
Uniform Medical Plan Commercial|All Plans $1,552.58 ↑ +420%
Kaiser Commercial|HMO $1,574.04 ↑ +427%
Kaiser Commercial|PPO $1,731.57 ↑ +480%
BCBS - Regence Commercial|All Plans $1,780.27 ↑ +496%
BCBS - Premera Commercial|All Other Plans $2,102.20 ↑ +604%
United Commercial|Navigate $2,211.26 ↑ +640%
United Commercial|Cascade Care $2,327.68 ↑ +679%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $2,327.68 ↑ +679%
Aetna Commercial|AWH $2,620.84 ↑ +778%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $3,083.34 ↑ +933%

Visitor-reported prices

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Rmvl ndwellg tun pleural cath at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Providence St Joseph Hospital Chewelah $865.90 not published
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $2,403.36 $726.41 – $2,963.40
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $1,656.90 $699.03 – $1,954.58
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $2,403.36 $726.41 – $2,868.82
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $2,403.36 $728.45 – $2,963.40
Central Medical Center Seattle $1,440.00 not published
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia $1,873.56 $726.41 – $3,688.48
Providence Mount Carmel Hospital Colville $1,012.20 not published

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →