Clearance of airways 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

$280.50

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.

$550.00

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.

$1.59 with first choice vs $406.12 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.

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 $1.59 ↓ -99%
aetna medicare advantage $15.17 ↓ -95%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $48.52 ↓ -83%
united healthcare commercial $49.06 ↓ -83%
multiplan medicare advantage $50.85 ↓ -82%
signal health medicare advantage $50.85 ↓ -82%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $50.85 ↓ -82%
regence medicare advantage $52.93 ↓ -81%
humana medicare advantage $55.25 ↓ -80%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $55.25 ↓ -80%
united healthcare medicare advantage $55.25 ↓ -80%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $55.25 ↓ -80%
optum care network medicare advantage $55.25 ↓ -80%
confluence health medicare advantage $60.08 ↓ -79%
regence uniform medical plan $89.43 ↓ -68%
premera commercial $105.83 ↓ -62%
regence commercial $118.69 ↓ -58%
coventry - first health commercial $137.06 ↓ -51%
cigna commercial $161.98 ↓ -42%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $232.63 ↓ -17%
kaiser health plan commercial $246.59 ↓ -12%
aetna commercial $346.50 ↑ +24%
cigna local plus $406.12 ↑ +45%

Visitor-reported prices

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Clearance of airways at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $576.96 $253.57 – $864.61
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $576.96 $253.57 – $837.02
Central Medical Center Seattle not published not published
Providence St Luke's Rehabilitation Medical Center Spokane $200.34 $244.02 – $268.42
Providence St Joseph Hospital Chewelah $287.00 not published
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $453.60 $244.02 – $662.26
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $576.96 $254.28 – $864.61
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia $442.52 $253.57 – $1,146.07

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →