Brain image w/flow < 4 views 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

$1,292.85

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.

$2,535.00

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.

$4.87 with aetna vs $1,559.47 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
aetna medicare advantage hmo $4.87 ↓ -100%
first choice commercial $6.35 ↓ -100%
confluence health medicare advantage $52.55 ↓ -96%
aetna medicare advantage $177.15 ↓ -86%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $218.91 ↓ -83%
humana medicare advantage $228.80 ↓ -82%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $228.80 ↓ -82%
united healthcare medicare advantage $228.80 ↓ -82%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $228.80 ↓ -82%
optum care network medicare advantage $228.80 ↓ -82%
united healthcare commercial $233.45 ↓ -82%
signal health medicare advantage $240.33 ↓ -81%
multiplan medicare advantage $240.33 ↓ -81%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $240.33 ↓ -81%
regence medicare advantage $251.88 ↓ -81%
regence uniform medical plan $379.62 ↓ -71%
premera commercial $449.24 ↓ -65%
regence commercial $503.81 ↓ -61%
coventry - first health commercial $556.88 ↓ -57%
kaiser health plan commercial $685.42 ↓ -47%
cigna commercial $770.85 ↓ -40%
cigna local plus $1,482.50 ↑ +15%
aetna commercial $1,559.47 ↑ +21%

Visitor-reported prices

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Brain image w/flow < 4 views at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Central Medical Center Seattle $1,382.40 $402.00 – $402.00
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle not published $462.93 – $1,730.21
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle not published $462.93 – $1,674.99
Providence St Mary Medical Center Walla Walla $1,190.00 $365.46 – $824.14
Kadlec Regional Medical Center Richland $921.20 $350.54 – $1,439.39
Providence Regional Medical Center Everett - Colby Campus Everett $608.40 $455.26 – $1,546.15
St. Michael Medical Center Silverdale $843.37 $1,203.87 – $1,831.85
St. Anne Hospital Burien $583.51 $780.44 – $3,374.91

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →