Ankle X-ray at Virginia Mason Medical Center

1100 9th Ave., Seattle, WA · Vmfh · · NPI 1801851258

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Jan 1, 2026 · Ingested Sep 17, 2026

$216.24

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.

$424.00

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.

$1.07 with first choice vs $473.65 with confluence health — 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 $1.07 ↓ -100%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $1.62 ↓ -99%
aetna medicare advantage $17.46 ↓ -92%
optum care network medicare advantage $41.80 ↓ -81%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $41.80 ↓ -81%
united healthcare medicare advantage $41.80 ↓ -81%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $41.80 ↓ -81%
humana medicare advantage $41.80 ↓ -81%
united healthcare commercial $42.16 ↓ -81%
signal health medicare advantage $43.43 ↓ -80%
multiplan medicare advantage $43.43 ↓ -80%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $43.43 ↓ -80%
regence medicare advantage $45.49 ↓ -79%
regence uniform medical plan $69.42 ↓ -68%
premera commercial $82.15 ↓ -62%
coventry - first health commercial $84.72 ↓ -61%
regence commercial $92.13 ↓ -57%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $100.70 ↓ -53%
kaiser health plan commercial $106.77 ↓ -51%
cigna commercial $139.21 ↓ -36%
aetna commercial $249.46 ↑ +15%
cigna local plus $313.08 ↑ +45%
confluence health medicare advantage $473.65 ↑ +119%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
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Ankle X-ray at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $264.48 $100.77 – $375.11
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $264.48 $100.77 – $363.14
Central Medical Center Seattle $304.00 $89.00 – $89.00
Providence St Luke's Rehabilitation Medical Center Spokane $145.53 $28.62 – $106.67
Providence St Joseph Hospital Chewelah $405.30 not published
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $522.90 $96.98 – $287.32
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $264.48 $101.06 – $375.11
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia $310.44 $100.77 – $497.22

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →