Colonoscopy (with biopsy) 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

$2,104.77

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.

$4,127.00

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.

$2.54 with aetna vs $3,047.38 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
aetna medicare advantage $2.54 ↓ -100%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $4.52 ↓ -100%
first choice commercial $13.23 ↓ -99%
confluence health medicare advantage $192.32 ↓ -91%
united healthcare commercial $205.03 ↓ -90%
humana medicare advantage $209.24 ↓ -90%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $209.24 ↓ -90%
united healthcare medicare advantage $209.24 ↓ -90%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $209.24 ↓ -90%
optum care network medicare advantage $209.24 ↓ -90%
multiplan medicare advantage $214.07 ↓ -90%
signal health medicare advantage $214.07 ↓ -90%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $214.07 ↓ -90%
regence medicare advantage $221.22 ↓ -89%
regence uniform medical plan $368.36 ↓ -82%
premera commercial $435.92 ↓ -79%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $498.41 ↓ -76%
cigna commercial $677.01 ↓ -68%
kaiser health plan commercial $957.18 ↓ -55%
regence commercial $1,082.32 ↓ -49%
coventry - first health commercial $1,232.00 ↓ -41%
aetna commercial $2,600.01 ↑ +24%
cigna local plus $3,047.38 ↑ +45%

Visitor-reported prices

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Colonoscopy (with biopsy) at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle not published $1,385.70 – $4,719.83
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle not published $1,385.70 – $4,569.20
Central Medical Center Seattle not published not published
Providence St Joseph Hospital Chewelah $529.90 not published
Providence Mount Carmel Hospital Colville $529.90 not published
Providence St Luke's Rehabilitation Medical Center Spokane not published $1,333.47 – $1,466.82
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane not published $1,333.47 – $3,393.68
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah not published $1,389.59 – $4,719.83

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →