Benign lesion paring 4+ 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

$325.89

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.

$639.00

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.

$2.58 with first choice vs $1,944.15 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 $2.58 ↓ -99%
united healthcare commercial $28.76 ↓ -91%
humana medicare advantage $28.95 ↓ -91%
united healthcare medicare advantage $28.95 ↓ -91%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $28.95 ↓ -91%
optum care network medicare advantage $28.95 ↓ -91%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $28.95 ↓ -91%
signal health medicare advantage $30.08 ↓ -91%
multiplan medicare advantage $30.08 ↓ -91%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $30.08 ↓ -91%
regence medicare advantage $31.03 ↓ -90%
regence uniform medical plan $52.53 ↓ -84%
premera commercial $62.17 ↓ -81%
cigna commercial $94.95 ↓ -71%
kaiser health plan commercial $149.59 ↓ -54%
coventry - first health commercial $176.70 ↓ -46%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $222.94 ↓ -32%
regence commercial $223.27 ↓ -31%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $227.27 ↓ -30%
aetna commercial $402.57 ↑ +24%
cigna local plus $471.84 ↑ +45%
confluence health medicare advantage $1,478.12 ↑ +354%
aetna medicare advantage $1,944.15 ↑ +497%

Visitor-reported prices

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Benign lesion paring 4+ at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $551.04 $232.33 – $821.23
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $551.04 $232.33 – $795.02
Central Medical Center Seattle not published not published
Providence St Joseph Hospital Chewelah $269.50 not published
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $427.70 $223.58 – $569.00
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $551.04 $232.98 – $821.23
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia $417.04 $232.33 – $1,022.17
Providence Mount Carmel Hospital Colville $315.70 not published

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →