Laser surgery eye strands 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

$916.47

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.

$1,797.00

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.

$11.38 with first choice vs $1,326.90 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 $11.38 ↓ -99%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $13.00 ↓ -99%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $23.43 ↓ -97%
aetna medicare advantage $103.82 ↓ -89%
confluence health medicare advantage $137.81 ↓ -85%
united healthcare commercial $378.09 ↓ -59%
humana medicare advantage $384.61 ↓ -58%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $384.61 ↓ -58%
united healthcare medicare advantage $384.61 ↓ -58%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $384.61 ↓ -58%
optum care network medicare advantage $384.61 ↓ -58%
signal health medicare advantage $396.33 ↓ -57%
multiplan medicare advantage $396.33 ↓ -57%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $396.33 ↓ -57%
regence medicare advantage $407.94 ↓ -55%
regence uniform medical plan $651.67 ↓ -29%
premera commercial $771.18 ↓ -16%
coventry - first health commercial $937.75 ↑ +2%
regence commercial $954.50 ↑ +4%
kaiser health plan commercial $1,083.59 ↑ +18%
aetna commercial $1,132.11 ↑ +24%
cigna commercial $1,248.43 ↑ +36%
cigna local plus $1,326.90 ↑ +45%

Visitor-reported prices

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Laser surgery eye strands at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle not published $636.89 – $2,382.57
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle not published $636.89 – $2,306.53
Central Medical Center Seattle not published not published
Providence St Luke's Rehabilitation Medical Center Spokane not published $612.89 – $674.18
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane not published $612.89 – $1,571.48
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah not published $638.68 – $2,382.57
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia not published $636.89 – $2,965.54
Swedish Edmonds Hospital Edmonds not published $626.34 – $2,281.19

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →