Injection into brain canal 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

$1,219.41

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.

$2,391.00

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.

$3.10 with first choice vs $1,765.51 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 $3.10 ↓ -100%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $32.37 ↓ -97%
aetna medicare advantage $37.52 ↓ -97%
confluence health medicare advantage $42.84 ↓ -96%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $88.11 ↓ -93%
united healthcare commercial $110.29 ↓ -91%
signal health medicare advantage $118.84 ↓ -90%
multiplan medicare advantage $118.84 ↓ -90%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $118.84 ↓ -90%
regence medicare advantage $119.00 ↓ -90%
united healthcare medicare advantage $119.35 ↓ -90%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $119.35 ↓ -90%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $119.35 ↓ -90%
optum care network medicare advantage $119.35 ↓ -90%
humana medicare advantage $119.35 ↓ -90%
regence uniform medical plan $199.50 ↓ -84%
premera commercial $236.09 ↓ -81%
regence commercial $264.77 ↓ -78%
coventry - first health commercial $324.85 ↓ -73%
cigna commercial $364.17 ↓ -70%
kaiser health plan commercial $485.59 ↓ -60%
aetna commercial $1,506.33 ↑ +24%
cigna local plus $1,765.51 ↑ +45%

Visitor-reported prices

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Injection into brain canal at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $2,047.68 $817.40 – $2,937.74
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $2,047.68 $817.40 – $2,843.98
Central Medical Center Seattle not published not published
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $2,359.00 $786.59 – $2,001.88
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $2,047.68 $819.70 – $2,937.74
Providence Regional Medical Center Everett - Colby Campus Everett $1,548.04 $803.86 – $5,987.00
Providence St Luke's Rehabilitation Medical Center Spokane not published $786.59 – $865.25
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia not published $817.40 – $3,656.54

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →