Biopsy roof of mouth 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

$2,061.93

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.

$4,043.00

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.

$4.36 with first choice vs $2,985.35 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 $4.36 ↓ -100%
aetna medicare advantage $25.48 ↓ -99%
united healthcare commercial $119.17 ↓ -94%
united healthcare medicare advantage $122.51 ↓ -94%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $122.51 ↓ -94%
optum care network medicare advantage $122.51 ↓ -94%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $122.51 ↓ -94%
humana medicare advantage $122.51 ↓ -94%
signal health medicare advantage $125.02 ↓ -94%
multiplan medicare advantage $125.02 ↓ -94%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $125.02 ↓ -94%
regence medicare advantage $128.57 ↓ -94%
confluence health medicare advantage $144.90 ↓ -93%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $164.07 ↓ -92%
regence uniform medical plan $206.38 ↓ -90%
premera commercial $244.23 ↓ -88%
regence commercial $366.86 ↓ -82%
coventry - first health commercial $379.22 ↓ -82%
cigna commercial $393.48 ↓ -81%
kaiser health plan commercial $458.85 ↓ -78%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $1,661.94 ↓ -19%
aetna commercial $2,547.09 ↑ +24%
cigna local plus $2,985.35 ↑ +45%

Visitor-reported prices

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Biopsy roof of mouth at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle not published $1,796.72 – $6,571.29
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle not published $1,796.72 – $6,328.40
Central Medical Center Seattle not published not published
Providence St Luke's Rehabilitation Medical Center Spokane not published $1,729.00 – $1,901.90
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane not published $1,729.00 – $4,400.30
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah not published $1,801.76 – $6,571.29
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia not published $1,796.72 – $7,893.64
Swedish Edmonds Hospital Edmonds not published $1,638.00 – $6,530.81

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →