Core ndl bx lng/med perq 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

$2,299.08

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.

Full explanation →

What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$4,508.00

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.

$27.71 with first choice vs $3,606.40 with coventry - first 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 $27.71 ↓ -99%
confluence health medicare advantage $29.46 ↓ -99%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $50.35 ↓ -98%
united healthcare commercial $153.43 ↓ -93%
optum care network medicare advantage $154.63 ↓ -93%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $154.63 ↓ -93%
humana medicare advantage $154.63 ↓ -93%
united healthcare medicare advantage $154.63 ↓ -93%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $154.63 ↓ -93%
signal health medicare advantage $158.48 ↓ -93%
multiplan medicare advantage $158.48 ↓ -93%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $158.48 ↓ -93%
regence medicare advantage $165.55 ↓ -93%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $197.99 ↓ -91%
regence uniform medical plan $279.55 ↓ -88%
premera commercial $330.82 ↓ -86%
cigna commercial $506.63 ↓ -78%
regence commercial $2,152.19 ↓ -6%
kaiser health plan commercial $2,718.32 ↑ +18%
aetna commercial $2,840.04 ↑ +24%
cigna local plus $3,328.71 ↑ +45%
coventry - first health commercial $3,606.40 ↑ +57%

Visitor-reported prices

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Core ndl bx lng/med perq at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $5,077.44 $1,912.53 – $5,810.27
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $5,077.44 $1,912.53 – $4,475.33
Central Medical Center Seattle $4,720.00 not published
Providence St Joseph Hospital Chewelah $2,244.20 not published
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $3,609.20 $1,840.45 – $4,683.94
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $5,077.44 $1,917.90 – $4,257.73
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia $3,502.72 $1,912.53 – $3,538.19
Providence Mount Carmel Hospital Colville $2,624.30 not published

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →