Contrast x-ray gallbladder 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

$380.46

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.

$746.00

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.

$2.57 with first choice vs $824.83 with confluence health — 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 $2.57 ↓ -99%
aetna medicare advantage $6.90 ↓ -98%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $10.15 ↓ -97%
optum care network medicare advantage $96.47 ↓ -75%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $96.47 ↓ -75%
united healthcare medicare advantage $96.47 ↓ -75%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $96.47 ↓ -75%
humana medicare advantage $96.47 ↓ -75%
united healthcare commercial $100.17 ↓ -74%
signal health medicare advantage $101.31 ↓ -73%
multiplan medicare advantage $101.31 ↓ -73%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $101.31 ↓ -73%
regence medicare advantage $108.08 ↓ -72%
regence uniform medical plan $163.85 ↓ -57%
coventry - first health commercial $178.53 ↓ -53%
premera commercial $193.91 ↓ -49%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $203.61 ↓ -46%
regence commercial $217.46 ↓ -43%
kaiser health plan commercial $230.07 ↓ -40%
cigna commercial $330.76 ↓ -13%
aetna commercial $469.98 ↑ +24%
cigna local plus $550.85 ↑ +45%
confluence health medicare advantage $824.83 ↑ +117%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
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Contrast x-ray gallbladder at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $424.80 $203.11 – $856.43
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $424.80 $203.11 – $829.10
Central Medical Center Seattle $616.00 $179.00 – $179.00
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $877.10 $195.46 – $655.99
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $424.80 $203.68 – $856.43
Providence Mount Carmel Hospital Colville $401.80 not published
Providence St Mary Medical Center Walla Walla $548.80 $162.81 – $361.60
Kadlec Regional Medical Center Richland $476.00 $152.03 – $712.48

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →