Observation direct referral from physician office for admission at Virginia Mason Medical Center
1100 9th Ave., Seattle, WA · Vmfh · · NPI 1801851258
$827.73
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.
$1,623.00
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.
$59.53 with aetna vs $2,258.05 with united healthcare — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| aetna | commercial | $59.53 | ↓ -93% |
| cigna | commercial | $343.67 | ↓ -58% |
| multiplan | medicare advantage | $467.49 | ↓ -44% |
| regence | medicare advantage | $567.66 | ↓ -31% |
| optum care network | medicare advantage | $667.84 | ↓ -19% |
| humana | medicare advantage | $667.84 | ↓ -19% |
| united healthcare | medicare advantage | $667.84 | ↓ -19% |
| premera | medicare advantage hmo/ppo | $667.84 | ↓ -19% |
| kaiser foundation | hp medicare | $667.84 | ↓ -19% |
| aetna | medicare advantage ppo | $687.87 | ↓ -17% |
| aetna | medicare advantage hmo | $701.23 | ↓ -15% |
| premera | commercial | $973.80 | ↑ +18% |
| kaiser health plan | commercial | $978.67 | ↑ +18% |
| first choice | commercial | $1,039.53 | ↑ +26% |
| regence | uniform medical plan | $1,136.10 | ↑ +37% |
| regence | commercial | $1,136.10 | ↑ +37% |
| cigna | local plus | $1,198.42 | ↑ +45% |
| coventry - first health | commercial | $1,298.40 | ↑ +57% |
| united healthcare | commercial | $2,258.05 | ↑ +173% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Observation direct referral from physician office for admission at other Washington hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus | Seattle | $162.24 | $689.62 – $2,095.06 |
| Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill | Seattle | $162.24 | $689.62 – $1,613.71 |
| Providence St Joseph Hospital | Chewelah | $153.30 | not published |
| Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital | Spokane | $1,036.00 | $663.63 – $1,688.93 |
| Swedish Issaquah | Issaquah | $162.24 | $691.55 – $1,535.25 |
| Providence Centralia Hospital | Centralia | $1,086.80 | $689.62 – $1,275.79 |
| Providence St Mary Medical Center | Walla Walla | $145.60 | $569.15 – $1,227.71 |
| Kadlec Regional Medical Center | Richland | $688.80 | $663.63 – $1,227.71 |