Lumbar diskogram s&i at Virginia Mason Medical Center
1100 9th Ave., Seattle, WA · Vmfh · · NPI 1801851258
$7,724.97
Cash price 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.
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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
$15,147.00
Gross charge 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.
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The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$3.29 with first choice vs $7,204.49 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 →
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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 ?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 ?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 | $3.29 | ↓ -100% |
| confluence health | medicare advantage | $9.62 | ↓ -100% |
| aetna | medicare advantage | $11.65 | ↓ -100% |
| aetna | medicare advantage hmo | $32.21 | ↓ -100% |
| aetna | medicare advantage ppo | $90.11 | ↓ -99% |
| united healthcare | commercial | $124.87 | ↓ -98% |
| humana | medicare advantage | $125.67 | ↓ -98% |
| humana | choicecare medicare advantage | $125.67 | ↓ -98% |
| united healthcare | medicare advantage | $125.67 | ↓ -98% |
| kaiser foundation | hp medicare | $125.67 | ↓ -98% |
| optum care network | medicare advantage | $125.67 | ↓ -98% |
| signal health | medicare advantage | $130.14 | ↓ -98% |
| multiplan | medicare advantage | $130.14 | ↓ -98% |
| premera | medicare advantage hmo/ppo | $130.14 | ↓ -98% |
| regence | medicare advantage | $134.72 | ↓ -98% |
| regence | uniform medical plan | $208.26 | ↓ -97% |
| premera | commercial | $246.45 | ↓ -97% |
| regence | commercial | $276.39 | ↓ -96% |
| kaiser health plan | commercial | $358.12 | ↓ -95% |
| coventry - first health | commercial | $374.34 | ↓ -95% |
| cigna | commercial | $412.30 | ↓ -95% |
| aetna | commercial | $624.83 | ↓ -92% |
| cigna | local plus | $7,204.49 | ↓ -7% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Lumbar diskogram s&i at other Washington hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus | Seattle | $6,099.36 | $2,261.24 – $8,373.23 |
| Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill | Seattle | $6,099.36 | $2,261.24 – $8,063.75 |
| Central Medical Center | Seattle | $6,720.00 | $1,953.00 – $1,953.00 |
| Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital | Spokane | $6,276.20 | $774.09 – $5,537.94 |
| Swedish Issaquah | Issaquah | $6,099.36 | $296.84 – $8,373.23 |
| Providence St Mary Medical Center | Walla Walla | $1,850.10 | $411.43 – $4,025.62 |
| Kadlec Regional Medical Center | Richland | $2,331.00 | $192.76 – $6,378.79 |
| Providence Holy Family Hospital | Spokane | $4,657.80 | $359.11 – $6,612.78 |