Arthrocentesis/aspiration/injection intermediate joint/bursa without ultrasound guidance right 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

$457.47

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.

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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$897.00

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.

$1.58 with first choice vs $662.34 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 $1.58 ↓ -100%
united healthcare commercial $37.98 ↓ -92%
humana medicare advantage $38.57 ↓ -92%
united healthcare medicare advantage $38.57 ↓ -92%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $38.57 ↓ -92%
optum care network medicare advantage $38.57 ↓ -92%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $38.57 ↓ -92%
signal health medicare advantage $39.57 ↓ -91%
multiplan medicare advantage $39.57 ↓ -91%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $39.57 ↓ -91%
regence medicare advantage $40.98 ↓ -91%
regence uniform medical plan $68.79 ↓ -85%
aetna medicare advantage $74.76 ↓ -84%
premera commercial $81.41 ↓ -82%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $90.17 ↓ -80%
cigna commercial $125.42 ↓ -73%
confluence health medicare advantage $131.79 ↓ -71%
regence commercial $136.95 ↓ -70%
coventry - first health commercial $148.90 ↓ -67%
kaiser health plan commercial $176.95 ↓ -61%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $331.20 ↓ -28%
aetna commercial $565.11 ↑ +24%
cigna local plus $662.34 ↑ +45%

Visitor-reported prices

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Arthrocentesis/aspiration/injection intermediate joint/bursa without ultrasound guidance right at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $867.36 $355.45 – $1,230.32
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $867.36 $355.45 – $1,191.05
Central Medical Center Seattle $688.00 not published
Providence St Joseph Hospital Chewelah $263.20 not published
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $718.90 $342.05 – $870.52
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $867.36 $356.44 – $1,230.32
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia $747.24 $355.45 – $1,531.35
Providence Mount Carmel Hospital Colville $283.50 not published

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →