Drug of abuse screen urine 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

$30.60

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.

Full explanation →

What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$60.00

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.

Full explanation →

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

$8.82 with multiplan vs $48.00 with coventry - first health — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
?

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
multiplan medicare advantage $8.82 ↓ -71%
regence medicare advantage $10.71 ↓ -65%
humana medicare advantage $12.60 ↓ -59%
united healthcare medicare advantage $12.60 ↓ -59%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $12.60 ↓ -59%
optum care network medicare advantage $12.60 ↓ -59%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $12.60 ↓ -59%
regence commercial $12.60 ↓ -59%
regence uniform medical plan $12.60 ↓ -59%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $12.98 ↓ -58%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $13.23 ↓ -57%
united healthcare commercial $15.12 ↓ -51%
kaiser health plan commercial $20.16 ↓ -34%
premera commercial $22.05 ↓ -28%
aetna commercial $37.80 ↑ +24%
first choice commercial $38.43 ↑ +26%
cigna commercial $39.38 ↑ +29%
cigna local plus $44.30 ↑ +45%
coventry - first health commercial $48.00 ↑ +57%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Drug of abuse screen urine at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $33.60 $11.34 – $59.22
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $33.60 $11.34 – $57.33
Navos Multi-Treatment Center Seattle $35.60 not published
Central Medical Center Seattle not published $10.00 – $10.00
Providence St Joseph Hospital Chewelah $28.70 not published
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $33.60 $11.34 – $59.22
Providence Mount Carmel Hospital Colville $28.70 not published
Swedish Edmonds Hospital Edmonds $33.60 $12.60 – $56.70

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →