Contrast x-ray of hip 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

$785.91

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.

$1,541.00

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.

$3.94 with first choice vs $1,137.87 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 $3.94 ↓ -99%
aetna medicare advantage $10.15 ↓ -99%
humana medicare advantage $143.91 ↓ -82%
optum care network medicare advantage $143.91 ↓ -82%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $143.91 ↓ -82%
united healthcare medicare advantage $143.91 ↓ -82%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $143.91 ↓ -82%
united healthcare commercial $149.87 ↓ -81%
signal health medicare advantage $153.25 ↓ -81%
multiplan medicare advantage $153.25 ↓ -81%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $153.25 ↓ -81%
confluence health medicare advantage $160.07 ↓ -80%
regence medicare advantage $161.70 ↓ -79%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $166.44 ↓ -79%
regence uniform medical plan $245.78 ↓ -69%
coventry - first health commercial $260.85 ↓ -67%
premera commercial $290.86 ↓ -63%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $319.61 ↓ -59%
regence commercial $326.19 ↓ -58%
kaiser health plan commercial $348.23 ↓ -56%
cigna commercial $494.85 ↓ -37%
aetna commercial $901.21 ↑ +15%
cigna local plus $1,137.87 ↑ +45%

Visitor-reported prices

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Contrast x-ray of hip at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $1,490.40 $403.99 – $1,794.70
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $1,490.40 $403.99 – $1,737.42
Central Medical Center Seattle $1,280.00 $358.00 – $358.00
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $781.20 $388.77 – $1,374.66
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $1,490.40 $403.81 – $1,794.70
Providence Mount Carmel Hospital Colville $622.30 not published
Providence St Mary Medical Center Walla Walla $1,357.30 $340.77 – $719.22
Kadlec Regional Medical Center Richland $926.10 $232.35 – $1,493.03

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →