Drainage of spinal cyst 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

not published by hospital

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.

not published by hospital

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.

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The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$25.53 with aetna vs $18,711.00 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 →

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
aetna medicare advantage ppo $25.53
confluence health medicare advantage $36.77
aetna medicare advantage $37.65
first choice commercial $50.91
aetna medicare advantage hmo $125.82
united healthcare commercial $1,780.47
humana medicare advantage $1,830.99
humana choicecare medicare advantage $1,830.99
united healthcare medicare advantage $1,830.99
kaiser foundation hp medicare $1,830.99
optum care network medicare advantage $1,830.99
signal health medicare advantage $1,873.36
multiplan medicare advantage $1,873.36
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $1,873.36
regence medicare advantage $1,921.03
regence uniform medical plan $3,263.34
premera commercial $3,861.84
coventry - first health commercial $4,241.18
regence commercial $4,330.94
cigna commercial $5,878.99
kaiser health plan commercial $8,119.08
cigna local plus $9,117.06
aetna commercial $18,711.00

Visitor-reported prices

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Drainage of spinal cyst at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle not published $18,933.00 – $18,933.00
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle not published $18,933.00 – $18,933.00
Providence St Luke's Rehabilitation Medical Center Spokane not published $5,470.62 – $5,470.62
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane not published $28,086.00 – $33,603.00
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah not published $17,257.00 – $18,933.00
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia not published $10,122.47 – $10,122.47
Swedish Edmonds Hospital Edmonds not published $4,912.00 – $18,933.00
Kadlec Regional Medical Center Richland not published $2,946.58 – $35,023.00

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →