Placement nephrostomy catheter (both sides) at Virginia Mason Medical Center
1100 9th Ave., Seattle, WA · Vmfh · · NPI 1801851258
$2,700.45
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.
$5,295.00
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.
$6.63 with aetna vs $4,236.00 with coventry - first health — 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 | medicare advantage | $6.63 | ↓ -100% |
| confluence health | medicare advantage | $21.48 | ↓ -99% |
| first choice | commercial | $27.73 | ↓ -99% |
| aetna | medicare advantage ppo | $36.96 | ↓ -99% |
| aetna | medicare advantage hmo | $69.32 | ↓ -97% |
| united healthcare | commercial | $206.66 | ↓ -92% |
| humana | medicare advantage | $209.52 | ↓ -92% |
| humana | choicecare medicare advantage | $209.52 | ↓ -92% |
| united healthcare | medicare advantage | $209.52 | ↓ -92% |
| kaiser foundation | hp medicare | $209.52 | ↓ -92% |
| optum care network | medicare advantage | $209.52 | ↓ -92% |
| signal health | medicare advantage | $213.59 | ↓ -92% |
| multiplan | medicare advantage | $213.59 | ↓ -92% |
| premera | medicare advantage hmo/ppo | $213.59 | ↓ -92% |
| regence | medicare advantage | $222.98 | ↓ -92% |
| regence | uniform medical plan | $373.99 | ↓ -86% |
| premera | commercial | $442.58 | ↓ -84% |
| cigna | commercial | $682.39 | ↓ -75% |
| kaiser health plan | commercial | $993.55 | ↓ -63% |
| regence | commercial | $2,277.52 | ↓ -16% |
| aetna | commercial | $3,335.85 | ↑ +24% |
| cigna | local plus | $3,909.83 | ↑ +45% |
| coventry - first health | commercial | $4,236.00 | ↑ +57% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Placement nephrostomy catheter (both sides) at other Washington hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus | Seattle | $6,056.16 | $2,420.64 – $8,627.45 |
| Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill | Seattle | $6,056.16 | $2,420.64 – $8,308.57 |
| Central Medical Center | Seattle | not published | not published |
| Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital | Spokane | $4,209.10 | $2,329.41 – $5,928.34 |
| Swedish Issaquah | Issaquah | $6,056.16 | $2,427.43 – $8,627.45 |
| Providence St Mary Medical Center | Walla Walla | $3,766.70 | $1,804.81 – $4,309.40 |
| Kadlec Regional Medical Center | Richland | $5,164.60 | $339.06 – $6,572.45 |
| Providence Holy Family Hospital | Spokane | $4,596.20 | $2,329.41 – $9,894.00 |