Insert cath pleura with image 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

$2,703.00

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.

$5,300.00

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.

$19.82 with first choice vs $4,240.00 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
first choice commercial $19.82 ↓ -99%
confluence health medicare advantage $40.63 ↓ -98%
aetna medicare advantage $107.45 ↓ -96%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $124.18 ↓ -95%
united healthcare commercial $150.25 ↓ -94%
humana medicare advantage $151.54 ↓ -94%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $151.54 ↓ -94%
united healthcare medicare advantage $151.54 ↓ -94%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $151.54 ↓ -94%
optum care network medicare advantage $151.54 ↓ -94%
multiplan medicare advantage $155.30 ↓ -94%
signal health medicare advantage $155.30 ↓ -94%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $155.30 ↓ -94%
regence medicare advantage $162.11 ↓ -94%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $192.32 ↓ -93%
regence uniform medical plan $273.93 ↓ -90%
premera commercial $324.16 ↓ -88%
cigna commercial $496.10 ↓ -82%
kaiser health plan commercial $746.08 ↓ -72%
regence commercial $1,665.81 ↓ -38%
aetna commercial $3,339.00 ↑ +24%
cigna local plus $3,913.52 ↑ +45%
coventry - first health commercial $4,240.00 ↑ +57%

Visitor-reported prices

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Insert cath pleura with image at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $6,133.44 $1,822.85 – $7,943.60
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $6,133.44 $1,822.85 – $7,650.00
Central Medical Center Seattle $3,680.00 not published
Providence St Joseph Hospital Chewelah $488.60 not published
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $2,221.10 $1,754.15 – $5,056.50
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $6,133.44 $1,827.97 – $7,943.60
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia $2,009.28 $1,822.85 – $9,542.11
Providence Mount Carmel Hospital Colville $735.00 not published

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →