Change of windpipe airway 31502 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

$399.84

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.

$784.00

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.

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The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$1.02 with first choice vs $578.91 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.

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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 $1.02 ↓ -100%
united healthcare commercial $35.80 ↓ -91%
humana medicare advantage $35.98 ↓ -91%
united healthcare medicare advantage $35.98 ↓ -91%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $35.98 ↓ -91%
optum care network medicare advantage $35.98 ↓ -91%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $35.98 ↓ -91%
signal health medicare advantage $37.31 ↓ -91%
multiplan medicare advantage $37.31 ↓ -91%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $37.31 ↓ -91%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $37.39 ↓ -91%
regence medicare advantage $38.63 ↓ -90%
confluence health medicare advantage $48.65 ↓ -88%
regence uniform medical plan $65.04 ↓ -84%
premera commercial $76.97 ↓ -81%
regence commercial $86.32 ↓ -78%
coventry - first health commercial $92.41 ↓ -77%
cigna commercial $118.22 ↓ -70%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $129.33 ↓ -68%
kaiser health plan commercial $166.17 ↓ -58%
aetna medicare advantage $261.43 ↓ -35%
aetna commercial $493.92 ↑ +24%
cigna local plus $578.91 ↑ +45%

Visitor-reported prices

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Change of windpipe airway 31502 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 $533.60 not published
Providence St Luke's Rehabilitation Medical Center Spokane $296.73 $263.93 – $290.33
Providence St Joseph Hospital Chewelah $130.90 not published
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $741.30 $263.93 – $671.71
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $636.48 $275.04 – $957.11
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia $544.44 $274.27 – $1,191.29

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →