Puncture/clear windpipe 31612 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

$5,193.84

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.

$10,184.00

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.

$2.70 with first choice vs $7,519.87 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 $2.70 ↓ -100%
united healthcare commercial $49.51 ↓ -99%
humana medicare advantage $50.23 ↓ -99%
united healthcare medicare advantage $50.23 ↓ -99%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $50.23 ↓ -99%
optum care network medicare advantage $50.23 ↓ -99%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $50.23 ↓ -99%
signal health medicare advantage $51.00 ↓ -99%
multiplan medicare advantage $51.00 ↓ -99%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $51.00 ↓ -99%
regence medicare advantage $53.42 ↓ -99%
regence uniform medical plan $90.68 ↓ -98%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $92.88 ↓ -98%
confluence health medicare advantage $94.80 ↓ -98%
premera commercial $107.31 ↓ -98%
aetna medicare advantage $136.21 ↓ -97%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $137.00 ↓ -97%
cigna commercial $163.48 ↓ -97%
coventry - first health commercial $208.11 ↓ -96%
kaiser health plan commercial $233.92 ↓ -95%
regence commercial $234.06 ↓ -95%
aetna commercial $4,497.00 ↓ -13%
cigna local plus $7,519.87 ↑ +45%

Visitor-reported prices

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Puncture/clear windpipe 31612 at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle not published $3,839.27 – $12,755.94
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle not published $3,839.27 – $12,284.47
Central Medical Center Seattle not published not published
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $11,931.50 $3,694.56 – $9,402.66
Providence Holy Family Hospital Spokane $13,157.90 $3,313.00 – $9,698.23
Providence St Luke's Rehabilitation Medical Center Spokane not published $3,694.56 – $4,064.02
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah not published $3,850.04 – $12,755.94
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia not published $3,839.27 – $15,322.85

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →