Injection(s) epidural/subarachnoid cervical/thoracic needle placement w/guidance 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

$1,218.90

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.

Full explanation →

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

$2,390.00

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.

$2.72 with aetna vs $1,912.00 with coventry - first health — 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
aetna medicare advantage hmo $2.72 ↓ -100%
first choice commercial $7.96 ↓ -99%
aetna medicare advantage $18.25 ↓ -99%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $103.67 ↓ -91%
united healthcare commercial $109.98 ↓ -91%
humana medicare advantage $113.37 ↓ -91%
optum care network medicare advantage $113.37 ↓ -91%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $113.37 ↓ -91%
united healthcare medicare advantage $113.37 ↓ -91%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $113.37 ↓ -91%
signal health medicare advantage $116.14 ↓ -90%
multiplan medicare advantage $116.14 ↓ -90%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $116.14 ↓ -90%
regence medicare advantage $118.66 ↓ -90%
confluence health medicare advantage $173.66 ↓ -86%
regence uniform medical plan $197.00 ↓ -84%
premera commercial $233.13 ↓ -81%
cigna commercial $363.14 ↓ -70%
kaiser health plan commercial $500.01 ↓ -59%
regence commercial $651.55 ↓ -47%
aetna commercial $1,505.70 ↑ +24%
cigna local plus $1,764.78 ↑ +45%
coventry - first health commercial $1,912.00 ↑ +57%

Visitor-reported prices

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Injection(s) epidural/subarachnoid cervical/thoracic needle placement w/guidance at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $2,092.80 $817.40 – $2,937.74
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $2,092.80 $817.40 – $2,843.98
Central Medical Center Seattle not published not published
Providence St Joseph Hospital Chewelah $963.90 not published
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $1,607.90 $786.59 – $2,001.88
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $2,092.80 $819.70 – $2,937.74
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia $1,550.64 $817.40 – $3,656.54
Providence Mount Carmel Hospital Colville $1,127.70 not published

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →