Chest X-ray 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

$230.01

Cash price

?

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.

$451.00

Gross charge

?

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.

$0.98 with first choice vs $360.80 with coventry - first health — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
?

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
?

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
?

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 $0.98 ↓ -100%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $18.64 ↓ -92%
united healthcare commercial $37.98 ↓ -83%
optum care network medicare advantage $38.36 ↓ -83%
humana medicare advantage $38.36 ↓ -83%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $38.36 ↓ -83%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $38.36 ↓ -83%
united healthcare medicare advantage $38.36 ↓ -83%
signal health medicare advantage $39.48 ↓ -83%
multiplan medicare advantage $39.48 ↓ -83%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $39.48 ↓ -83%
regence medicare advantage $40.98 ↓ -82%
regence uniform medical plan $63.17 ↓ -73%
premera commercial $74.75 ↓ -68%
regence commercial $83.83 ↓ -64%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $98.78 ↓ -57%
kaiser health plan commercial $108.26 ↓ -53%
confluence health medicare advantage $117.69 ↓ -49%
cigna commercial $125.42 ↓ -45%
aetna medicare advantage $138.51 ↓ -40%
aetna commercial $202.98 ↓ -12%
cigna local plus $324.83 ↑ +41%
coventry - first health commercial $360.80 ↑ +57%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Chest X-ray at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $322.56 $100.77 – $375.11
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $322.56 $100.77 – $363.14
Central Medical Center Seattle $304.00 $89.00 – $89.00
Providence St Luke's Rehabilitation Medical Center Spokane $239.40 not published
Providence St Joseph Hospital Chewelah $329.00 not published
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $455.00 $96.98 – $287.32
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $322.56 $96.84 – $375.11
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia $236.60 $100.77 – $497.22

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →