Burr hole implant ventricular cath/other device 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

$20,692.74

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.

$40,574.00

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.

$10.77 with first choice vs $18,711.00 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 $10.77 ↓ -100%
aetna medicare advantage $11.69 ↓ -100%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $19.37 ↓ -100%
confluence health medicare advantage $29.22 ↓ -100%
united healthcare commercial $367.60 ↓ -98%
humana medicare advantage $375.22 ↓ -98%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $375.22 ↓ -98%
united healthcare medicare advantage $375.22 ↓ -98%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $375.22 ↓ -98%
optum care network medicare advantage $375.22 ↓ -98%
multiplan medicare advantage $384.27 ↓ -98%
signal health medicare advantage $384.27 ↓ -98%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $384.27 ↓ -98%
regence medicare advantage $396.61 ↓ -98%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $437.17 ↓ -98%
regence uniform medical plan $687.31 ↓ -97%
premera commercial $813.37 ↓ -96%
regence commercial $912.17 ↓ -96%
coventry - first health commercial $923.35 ↓ -96%
cigna commercial $1,213.77 ↓ -94%
kaiser health plan commercial $1,814.84 ↓ -91%
cigna local plus $9,117.06 ↓ -56%
aetna commercial $18,711.00 ↓ -10%

Visitor-reported prices

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Burr hole implant ventricular cath/other device at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $9,246.24 $7,277.00 – $7,277.00
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $9,246.24 $7,277.00 – $7,277.00
Providence St Joseph Hospital Chewelah $688.10 not published
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $977.90 $5,419.00 – $33,603.00
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $9,246.24 $7,277.00 – $17,257.00
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia $775.32 $10,122.47 – $10,122.47
Providence Mount Carmel Hospital Colville $827.40 not published
Kadlec Regional Medical Center Richland $8,415.40 $620.18 – $7,909.00

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →