Artery x-rays lungs 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

$5,360.10

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.

$10,510.00

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.

$4.53 with first choice vs $7,760.58 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
first choice commercial $4.53 ↓ -100%
confluence health medicare advantage $30.24 ↓ -99%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $87.72 ↓ -98%
united healthcare commercial $162.55 ↓ -97%
humana medicare advantage $163.54 ↓ -97%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $163.54 ↓ -97%
united healthcare medicare advantage $163.54 ↓ -97%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $163.54 ↓ -97%
optum care network medicare advantage $163.54 ↓ -97%
signal health medicare advantage $168.01 ↓ -97%
multiplan medicare advantage $168.01 ↓ -97%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $168.01 ↓ -97%
regence medicare advantage $175.38 ↓ -97%
regence uniform medical plan $277.68 ↓ -95%
premera commercial $328.60 ↓ -94%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $343.52 ↓ -94%
aetna medicare advantage $364.68 ↓ -93%
regence commercial $368.52 ↓ -93%
cigna commercial $536.73 ↓ -90%
aetna commercial $629.93 ↓ -88%
kaiser health plan commercial $641.79 ↓ -88%
coventry - first health commercial $719.46 ↓ -87%
cigna local plus $7,760.58 ↑ +45%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
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Artery x-rays lungs at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $7,908.48 $3,656.33 – $13,496.13
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $7,908.48 $3,656.33 – $12,997.30
Central Medical Center Seattle $10,880.00 $3,148.00 – $3,148.00
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $4,635.40 $840.87 – $8,954.64
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $7,908.48 $296.42 – $13,496.13
Providence St Mary Medical Center Walla Walla $8,597.40 $446.92 – $6,509.26
Kadlec Regional Medical Center Richland $8,337.00 $253.58 – $10,281.45
Providence Holy Family Hospital Spokane $10,756.20 $390.09 – $10,916.90

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →