Caloric vestibular test 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

not published by hospital

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.

not published by hospital

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.

$0.74 with first choice vs $897.00 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 $0.74
united healthcare commercial $28.38
humana medicare advantage $28.99
humana choicecare medicare advantage $28.99
united healthcare medicare advantage $28.99
kaiser foundation hp medicare $28.99
optum care network medicare advantage $28.99
signal health medicare advantage $29.49
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $29.49
multiplan medicare advantage $29.49
regence medicare advantage $30.62
regence uniform medical plan $48.16
premera commercial $56.99
regence commercial $63.91
aetna medicare advantage ppo $65.08
kaiser health plan commercial $72.56
confluence health medicare advantage $93.17
cigna commercial $93.70
aetna medicare advantage hmo $897.00

Visitor-reported prices

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Caloric vestibular test at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Kadlec Regional Medical Center Richland not published $32.56 – $32.56
MultiCare Valley Hospital Spokane Valley not published $23.48 – $24.86
MultiCare Auburn Medical Center Auburn not published $24.01 – $25.93
MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital Puyallup not published $24.57 – $26.53
MultiCare Capital Medical Center Olympia not published $25.84 – $38.28
MultiCare Covington Medical Center Covington not published $24.01 – $25.93
MultiCare Mary Bridge Children's Hospital Tacoma not published $24.45 – $86.81
MultiCare Allenmore Hospital Tacoma not published $24.58 – $26.54

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →