Biopsy of lip 40490 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

$380.97

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.

$747.00

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.

$3.69 with first choice vs $1,625.00 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 $3.69 ↓ -99%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $12.25 ↓ -97%
confluence health medicare advantage $28.71 ↓ -92%
united healthcare commercial $71.89 ↓ -81%
humana medicare advantage $73.55 ↓ -81%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $73.55 ↓ -81%
united healthcare medicare advantage $73.55 ↓ -81%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $73.55 ↓ -81%
optum care network medicare advantage $73.55 ↓ -81%
signal health medicare advantage $74.88 ↓ -80%
multiplan medicare advantage $74.88 ↓ -80%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $74.88 ↓ -80%
regence medicare advantage $77.56 ↓ -80%
regence uniform medical plan $128.21 ↓ -66%
premera commercial $151.72 ↓ -60%
cigna commercial $237.36 ↓ -38%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $260.54 ↓ -32%
regence commercial $305.44 ↓ -20%
coventry - first health commercial $332.75 ↓ -13%
kaiser health plan commercial $337.01 ↓ -12%
aetna commercial $470.61 ↑ +24%
cigna local plus $551.58 ↑ +45%
aetna medicare advantage $1,625.00 ↑ +327%

Visitor-reported prices

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Biopsy of lip 40490 at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $636.48 $274.27 – $957.11
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $636.48 $274.27 – $926.56
Central Medical Center Seattle not published not published
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $636.48 $275.04 – $957.11
Providence St Luke's Rehabilitation Medical Center Spokane not published $263.93 – $290.33
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane not published $263.93 – $671.71
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia not published $274.27 – $1,191.29
Swedish Edmonds Hospital Edmonds not published $269.73 – $916.38

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →