Ligation major artery neck 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

$3,023.79

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.

$5,929.00

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.

$15.72 with first choice vs $4,377.97 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 $15.72 ↓ -99%
confluence health medicare advantage $24.43 ↓ -99%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $25.57 ↓ -99%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $35.00 ↓ -99%
aetna medicare advantage $150.00 ↓ -95%
united healthcare commercial $537.52 ↓ -82%
humana medicare advantage $550.79 ↓ -82%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $550.79 ↓ -82%
united healthcare medicare advantage $550.79 ↓ -82%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $550.79 ↓ -82%
optum care network medicare advantage $550.79 ↓ -82%
signal health medicare advantage $562.67 ↓ -81%
multiplan medicare advantage $562.67 ↓ -81%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $562.67 ↓ -81%
regence medicare advantage $579.95 ↓ -81%
regence uniform medical plan $960.61 ↓ -68%
premera commercial $1,136.79 ↓ -62%
regence commercial $1,274.88 ↓ -58%
coventry - first health commercial $1,295.38 ↓ -57%
cigna commercial $1,774.85 ↓ -41%
kaiser health plan commercial $2,383.42 ↓ -21%
aetna commercial $3,735.27 ↑ +24%
cigna local plus $4,377.97 ↑ +45%

Visitor-reported prices

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Ligation major artery neck at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle not published $3,656.33 – $11,107.93
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle not published $3,656.33 – $8,555.81
Central Medical Center Seattle not published not published
Providence St Joseph Hospital Chewelah $6,020.70 not published
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $8,166.90 $3,518.52 – $8,954.64
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia $5,886.40 $3,656.33 – $9,542.11
Providence Mount Carmel Hospital Colville $6,894.30 not published
Providence St Mary Medical Center Walla Walla $7,380.10 $2,824.42 – $6,509.26

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →