Biopsy needle lymph node superficial 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

$2,026.74

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.

$3,974.00

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.

$3.61 with first choice vs $2,934.40 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 $3.61 ↓ -100%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $61.98 ↓ -97%
united healthcare commercial $88.37 ↓ -96%
optum care network medicare advantage $89.63 ↓ -96%
humana medicare advantage $89.63 ↓ -96%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $89.63 ↓ -96%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $89.63 ↓ -96%
united healthcare medicare advantage $89.63 ↓ -96%
signal health medicare advantage $91.42 ↓ -95%
multiplan medicare advantage $91.42 ↓ -95%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $91.42 ↓ -95%
regence medicare advantage $95.35 ↓ -95%
confluence health medicare advantage $128.88 ↓ -94%
regence uniform medical plan $158.85 ↓ -92%
aetna medicare advantage $174.81 ↓ -91%
premera commercial $187.99 ↓ -91%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $246.52 ↓ -88%
cigna commercial $291.80 ↓ -86%
kaiser health plan commercial $317.81 ↓ -84%
coventry - first health commercial $332.31 ↓ -84%
regence commercial $439.90 ↓ -78%
aetna commercial $2,503.62 ↑ +24%
cigna local plus $2,934.40 ↑ +45%

Visitor-reported prices

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Biopsy needle lymph node superficial 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 $2,369.50 $1,840.45 – $4,683.94
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $4,420.32 $1,917.90 – $6,684.56
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia $4,122.56 $1,912.53 – $8,029.71
Providence Mount Carmel Hospital Colville $922.60 not published
Providence St Mary Medical Center Walla Walla $2,612.40 $1,436.62 – $3,404.83

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →