ER Visit (level 1, minor) 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.

Full explanation →

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.

Full explanation →

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

$0.64 with first choice vs $814.00 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
first choice commercial $0.64
humana choicecare medicare advantage $11.63
humana medicare advantage $11.63
united healthcare medicare advantage $11.63
kaiser foundation hp medicare $11.63
optum care network medicare advantage $11.63
united healthcare commercial $11.80
signal health medicare advantage $11.97
multiplan medicare advantage $11.97
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $11.97
regence medicare advantage $12.73
regence uniform medical plan $21.89
premera commercial $25.90
regence commercial $29.05
cigna commercial $29.09
coventry - first health commercial $55.67
aetna medicare advantage ppo $98.79
aetna medicare advantage hmo $100.71
kaiser health plan commercial $104.47
cigna local plus $324.86
aetna medicare advantage $382.95
confluence health medicare advantage $466.70
aetna commercial $814.00

Visitor-reported prices

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ER Visit (level 1, minor) at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $216.00 $97.65 – $339.05
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $216.00 $97.65 – $326.52
Central Medical Center Seattle $367.20 $144.00 – $144.00
Providence St Joseph Hospital Chewelah $144.20 not published
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $235.90 $93.97 – $239.14
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $216.00 $97.92 – $339.05
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia $284.44 $97.65 – $433.73
Providence Mount Carmel Hospital Colville $128.80 not published

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →