Chest X-ray (single view) 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

$249.90

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.

$490.00

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.

$0.75 with first choice vs $392.00 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 $0.75 ↓ -100%
united healthcare commercial $29.22 ↓ -88%
humana medicare advantage $29.51 ↓ -88%
united healthcare medicare advantage $29.51 ↓ -88%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $29.51 ↓ -88%
optum care network medicare advantage $29.51 ↓ -88%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $29.51 ↓ -88%
signal health medicare advantage $29.97 ↓ -88%
multiplan medicare advantage $29.97 ↓ -88%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $29.97 ↓ -88%
regence medicare advantage $31.53 ↓ -87%
regence uniform medical plan $48.78 ↓ -80%
premera commercial $57.73 ↓ -77%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $64.65 ↓ -74%
regence commercial $64.74 ↓ -74%
kaiser health plan commercial $74.39 ↓ -70%
cigna commercial $96.49 ↓ -61%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $100.70 ↓ -60%
confluence health medicare advantage $117.69 ↓ -53%
aetna commercial $150.56 ↓ -40%
aetna medicare advantage $201.51 ↓ -19%
cigna local plus $324.83 ↑ +30%
coventry - first health commercial $392.00 ↑ +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 (single view) 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 $210.42 not published
Providence St Joseph Hospital Chewelah $254.10 not published
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $398.30 $96.98 – $287.32
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $322.56 $71.81 – $375.11
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia $236.60 $100.77 – $497.22

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →