Echo exam of eye 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

$249.90

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.

$490.00

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.

$1.36 with first choice vs $361.82 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 $1.36 ↓ -99%
aetna medicare advantage $5.97 ↓ -98%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $24.08 ↓ -90%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $51.74 ↓ -79%
united healthcare commercial $51.84 ↓ -79%
optum care network medicare advantage $52.72 ↓ -79%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $52.72 ↓ -79%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $52.72 ↓ -79%
humana medicare advantage $52.72 ↓ -79%
united healthcare medicare advantage $52.72 ↓ -79%
signal health medicare advantage $54.25 ↓ -78%
multiplan medicare advantage $54.25 ↓ -78%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $54.25 ↓ -78%
regence medicare advantage $55.93 ↓ -78%
regence uniform medical plan $86.93 ↓ -65%
confluence health medicare advantage $99.43 ↓ -60%
premera commercial $102.87 ↓ -59%
regence commercial $115.37 ↓ -54%
cigna commercial $171.18 ↓ -32%
coventry - first health commercial $186.33 ↓ -25%
aetna commercial $211.68 ↓ -15%
kaiser health plan commercial $219.34 ↓ -12%
cigna local plus $361.82 ↑ +45%

Visitor-reported prices

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Echo exam of eye at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Central Medical Center Seattle $364.80 $107.00 – $107.00
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle not published $121.06 – $526.78
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle not published $121.06 – $509.96
Providence St Luke's Rehabilitation Medical Center Spokane not published $101.82 – $128.15
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane not published $116.50 – $403.49
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah not published $100.99 – $526.78
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia not published $121.06 – $698.26
Swedish Edmonds Hospital Edmonds not published $76.03 – $504.36

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →