CT thoracic spine w/contrast at Virginia Mason Medical Center
1100 9th Ave., Seattle, WA · Vmfh · · NPI 1801851258
$1,268.37
Cash price 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.
$2,487.00
Gross charge 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.
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The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$5.37 with first choice vs $1,031.46 with aetna — 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 →
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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 ?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 ?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 | $5.37 | ↓ -100% |
| aetna | medicare advantage hmo | $14.49 | ↓ -99% |
| aetna | medicare advantage ppo | $23.61 | ↓ -98% |
| confluence health | medicare advantage | $24.75 | ↓ -98% |
| aetna | medicare advantage | $90.16 | ↓ -93% |
| multiplan | medicare advantage | $135.74 | ↓ -89% |
| regence | medicare advantage | $164.82 | ↓ -87% |
| humana | medicare advantage | $193.91 | ↓ -85% |
| united healthcare | medicare advantage | $193.91 | ↓ -85% |
| kaiser foundation | hp medicare | $193.91 | ↓ -85% |
| optum care network | medicare advantage | $193.91 | ↓ -85% |
| premera | medicare advantage hmo/ppo | $193.91 | ↓ -85% |
| humana | choicecare medicare advantage | $196.48 | ↓ -85% |
| united healthcare | commercial | $198.37 | ↓ -84% |
| signal health | medicare advantage | $204.11 | ↓ -84% |
| regence | uniform medical plan | $330.21 | ↓ -74% |
| premera | commercial | $390.77 | ↓ -69% |
| regence | commercial | $438.24 | ↓ -65% |
| kaiser health plan | commercial | $534.17 | ↓ -58% |
| cigna | commercial | $577.95 | ↓ -54% |
| cigna | local plus | $656.77 | ↓ -48% |
| coventry - first health | commercial | $854.05 | ↓ -33% |
| aetna | commercial | $1,031.46 | ↓ -19% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
CT thoracic spine w/contrast at other Washington hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus | Seattle | $1,763.04 | $203.11 – $856.43 |
| Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill | Seattle | $1,763.04 | $203.11 – $829.10 |
| Central Medical Center | Seattle | $1,920.00 | $179.00 – $179.00 |
| Providence St Luke's Rehabilitation Medical Center | Spokane | $1,358.28 | $195.46 – $215.00 |
| Providence St Joseph Hospital | Chewelah | $1,453.90 | not published |
| Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital | Spokane | $1,597.40 | $195.46 – $655.99 |
| Swedish Issaquah | Issaquah | $1,763.04 | $203.68 – $856.43 |
| Providence Centralia Hospital | Centralia | $1,474.72 | $203.11 – $1,135.23 |