Middle cerebral artery echo 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

$256.02

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.

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

$502.00

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.

$2.68 with first choice vs $370.68 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 $2.68 ↓ -99%
confluence health medicare advantage $8.93 ↓ -97%
aetna medicare advantage $14.49 ↓ -94%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $28.64 ↓ -89%
multiplan medicare advantage $81.09 ↓ -68%
regence medicare advantage $98.46 ↓ -62%
humana medicare advantage $99.42 ↓ -61%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $99.42 ↓ -61%
united healthcare medicare advantage $99.42 ↓ -61%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $99.42 ↓ -61%
optum care network medicare advantage $99.42 ↓ -61%
united healthcare commercial $99.67 ↓ -61%
signal health medicare advantage $103.94 ↓ -59%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $103.94 ↓ -59%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $121.63 ↓ -52%
regence uniform medical plan $166.36 ↓ -35%
premera commercial $196.87 ↓ -23%
regence commercial $220.78 ↓ -14%
coventry - first health commercial $259.10 ↑ +1%
kaiser health plan commercial $302.71 ↑ +18%
aetna commercial $316.26 ↑ +24%
cigna commercial $329.10 ↑ +29%
cigna local plus $370.68 ↑ +45%

Visitor-reported prices

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Middle cerebral artery echo at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $214.08 $121.06 – $526.78
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $214.08 $121.06 – $509.96
Central Medical Center Seattle $364.80 $107.00 – $107.00
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $243.60 $116.50 – $403.49
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $214.08 $121.40 – $526.78
Kadlec Regional Medical Center Richland $585.20 $116.50 – $438.23
Providence Regional Medical Center Everett - Colby Campus Everett $162.76 $119.06 – $470.74
Providence St Peter Hospital Olympia $221.00 $102.20 – $627.65

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →