Dilation of salivary duct 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

$1,079.67

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.

$2,117.00

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.

$3.52 with first choice vs $1,563.19 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 $3.52 ↓ -100%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $5.99 ↓ -99%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $8.41 ↓ -99%
aetna medicare advantage $12.87 ↓ -99%
united healthcare medicare advantage $85.95 ↓ -92%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $85.95 ↓ -92%
humana medicare advantage $85.95 ↓ -92%
optum care network medicare advantage $85.95 ↓ -92%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $85.95 ↓ -92%
united healthcare commercial $93.39 ↓ -91%
signal health medicare advantage $95.63 ↓ -91%
multiplan medicare advantage $95.63 ↓ -91%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $95.63 ↓ -91%
regence medicare advantage $100.76 ↓ -91%
regence uniform medical plan $165.73 ↓ -85%
premera commercial $196.13 ↓ -82%
coventry - first health commercial $272.23 ↓ -75%
regence commercial $292.16 ↓ -73%
cigna commercial $308.37 ↓ -71%
confluence health medicare advantage $309.25 ↓ -71%
kaiser health plan commercial $392.23 ↓ -64%
aetna commercial $1,333.71 ↑ +24%
cigna local plus $1,563.19 ↑ +45%

Visitor-reported prices

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Dilation of salivary duct at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle not published $624.54 – $2,076.08
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle not published $624.54 – $2,009.83
Central Medical Center Seattle not published not published
Providence St Luke's Rehabilitation Medical Center Spokane not published $601.00 – $661.10
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane not published $601.00 – $1,529.54
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah not published $626.29 – $2,076.08
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia not published $624.54 – $2,584.06
Swedish Edmonds Hospital Edmonds not published $614.19 – $1,987.74

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →