Fluoroguide needle placement 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

$342.72

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.

$672.00

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.

$3.41 with first choice vs $1,172.40 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 $3.41 ↓ -99%
confluence health medicare advantage $7.31 ↓ -98%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $8.93 ↓ -97%
aetna medicare advantage $35.69 ↓ -90%
humana medicare advantage $131.00 ↓ -62%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $131.00 ↓ -62%
united healthcare medicare advantage $131.00 ↓ -62%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $131.00 ↓ -62%
optum care network medicare advantage $131.00 ↓ -62%
united healthcare commercial $133.08 ↓ -61%
multiplan medicare advantage $137.66 ↓ -60%
signal health medicare advantage $137.66 ↓ -60%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $137.66 ↓ -60%
regence medicare advantage $143.58 ↓ -58%
coventry - first health commercial $194.21 ↓ -43%
regence uniform medical plan $218.89 ↓ -36%
premera commercial $259.04 ↓ -24%
regence commercial $290.50 ↓ -15%
kaiser health plan commercial $322.20 ↓ -6%
aetna commercial $423.36 ↑ +24%
cigna commercial $439.42 ↑ +28%
cigna local plus $496.20 ↑ +45%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $1,172.40 ↑ +242%

Visitor-reported prices

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Fluoroguide needle placement at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $360.96 not published
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $360.96 not published
Central Medical Center Seattle $472.00 not published
Providence St Luke's Rehabilitation Medical Center Spokane $365.40 $91.35 – $91.35
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $615.30 $966.93 – $966.93
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $360.96 $363.51 – $363.51
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia $1,250.08 $1,106.49 – $1,106.49
Providence Mount Carmel Hospital Colville $447.30 not published

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →