Biopsy abdominal mass 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

$2,335.29

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.

$4,579.00

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.

$5.14 with first choice vs $3,381.13 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 $5.14 ↓ -100%
aetna medicare advantage $13.19 ↓ -99%
confluence health medicare advantage $16.87 ↓ -99%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $19.90 ↓ -99%
united healthcare commercial $83.97 ↓ -96%
humana medicare advantage $84.37 ↓ -96%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $84.37 ↓ -96%
united healthcare medicare advantage $84.37 ↓ -96%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $84.37 ↓ -96%
optum care network medicare advantage $84.37 ↓ -96%
multiplan medicare advantage $86.01 ↓ -96%
signal health medicare advantage $86.01 ↓ -96%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $86.01 ↓ -96%
regence medicare advantage $90.60 ↓ -96%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $100.00 ↓ -96%
regence uniform medical plan $153.22 ↓ -93%
premera commercial $181.32 ↓ -92%
cigna commercial $277.26 ↓ -88%
kaiser health plan commercial $417.78 ↓ -82%
regence commercial $435.75 ↓ -81%
coventry - first health commercial $442.69 ↓ -81%
aetna commercial $2,884.77 ↑ +24%
cigna local plus $3,381.13 ↑ +45%

Visitor-reported prices

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Biopsy abdominal mass at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $4,420.32 $1,912.53 – $6,684.56
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $4,420.32 $1,912.53 – $6,437.49
Central Medical Center Seattle not published not published
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $2,660.00 $1,840.45 – $4,683.94
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $4,420.32 $1,917.90 – $6,684.56
Providence Mount Carmel Hospital Colville $627.20 not published
Providence St Mary Medical Center Walla Walla $2,798.60 $1,436.62 – $3,404.83
Kadlec Regional Medical Center Richland $2,039.10 $160.12 – $5,092.35

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →