Curette/treat cornea 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

$1,645.26

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.

$3,226.00

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.

$2.39 with first choice vs $2,382.08 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 $2.39 ↓ -100%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $56.33 ↓ -97%
aetna medicare advantage $63.72 ↓ -96%
united healthcare commercial $73.37 ↓ -96%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $75.71 ↓ -95%
united healthcare medicare advantage $75.71 ↓ -95%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $75.71 ↓ -95%
humana medicare advantage $75.71 ↓ -95%
optum care network medicare advantage $75.71 ↓ -95%
signal health medicare advantage $77.79 ↓ -95%
multiplan medicare advantage $77.79 ↓ -95%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $77.79 ↓ -95%
regence medicare advantage $79.16 ↓ -95%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $100.76 ↓ -94%
regence uniform medical plan $126.96 ↓ -92%
premera commercial $150.24 ↓ -91%
coventry - first health commercial $196.65 ↓ -88%
regence commercial $202.52 ↓ -88%
cigna commercial $242.26 ↓ -85%
kaiser health plan commercial $288.78 ↓ -82%
confluence health medicare advantage $1,059.83 ↓ -36%
aetna commercial $2,032.38 ↑ +24%
cigna local plus $2,382.08 ↑ +45%

Visitor-reported prices

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Curette/treat cornea at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $2,009.76 $1,154.37 – $3,792.76
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $2,009.76 $1,154.37 – $3,671.71
Central Medical Center Seattle not published not published
Providence St Joseph Hospital Chewelah $1,309.00 not published
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $1,710.80 $1,110.87 – $2,827.15
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $2,009.76 $1,157.61 – $3,792.76
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia $2,087.80 $1,154.37 – $4,720.77
Providence Mount Carmel Hospital Colville $1,720.60 not published

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →