Diathermy eg microwave 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

$15.30

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.

$30.00

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.

$0.21 with first choice vs $337.44 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 $0.21 ↓ -99%
multiplan medicare advantage $5.75 ↓ -62%
regence medicare advantage $6.99 ↓ -54%
united healthcare commercial $8.14 ↓ -47%
regence commercial $8.22 ↓ -46%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $8.22 ↓ -46%
optum care network medicare advantage $8.22 ↓ -46%
united healthcare medicare advantage $8.22 ↓ -46%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $8.22 ↓ -46%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $8.22 ↓ -46%
humana medicare advantage $8.22 ↓ -46%
regence uniform medical plan $8.22 ↓ -46%
signal health medicare advantage $8.46 ↓ -45%
premera commercial $8.46 ↓ -45%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $8.47 ↓ -45%
cigna commercial $8.52 ↓ -44%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $8.63 ↓ -44%
coventry - first health commercial $15.73 ↑ +3%
kaiser health plan commercial $18.09 ↑ +18%
aetna commercial $18.90 ↑ +24%
cigna local plus $22.15 ↑ +45%
aetna medicare advantage $80.91 ↑ +429%
confluence health medicare advantage $337.44 ↑ +2105%

Visitor-reported prices

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Diathermy eg microwave at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Central Medical Center Seattle $26.40 not published
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle not published $6.82 – $25.88
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle not published $6.82 – $21.65
Providence St Luke's Rehabilitation Medical Center Spokane not published $8.52 – $9.37
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane not published $8.52 – $21.68
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah not published $6.82 – $18.91
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia not published $8.52 – $16.75
Swedish Edmonds Hospital Edmonds not published $8.52 – $28.87

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →