Reconstruction knee 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

$15,219.93

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.

$29,843.00

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.

$32.93 with first choice vs $22,036.07 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 $32.93 ↓ -100%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $38.21 ↓ -100%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $91.54 ↓ -99%
aetna medicare advantage $110.25 ↓ -99%
united healthcare commercial $1,185.12 ↓ -92%
humana medicare advantage $1,220.43 ↓ -92%
optum care network medicare advantage $1,220.43 ↓ -92%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $1,220.43 ↓ -92%
united healthcare medicare advantage $1,220.43 ↓ -92%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $1,220.43 ↓ -92%
signal health medicare advantage $1,243.26 ↓ -92%
multiplan medicare advantage $1,243.26 ↓ -92%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $1,243.26 ↓ -92%
regence medicare advantage $1,278.68 ↓ -92%
confluence health medicare advantage $1,810.29 ↓ -88%
regence uniform medical plan $2,097.59 ↓ -86%
premera commercial $2,482.30 ↓ -84%
regence commercial $2,783.82 ↓ -82%
coventry - first health commercial $2,798.74 ↓ -82%
cigna commercial $3,913.19 ↓ -74%
kaiser health plan commercial $4,917.46 ↓ -68%
aetna commercial $14,500.00 ↓ -5%
cigna local plus $22,036.07 ↑ +45%

Visitor-reported prices

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Reconstruction knee at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle not published $7,277.00 – $57,956.46
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle not published $7,277.00 – $55,814.33
Central Medical Center Seattle not published not published
Providence St Luke's Rehabilitation Medical Center Spokane not published $14,306.71 – $15,737.38
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane not published $11,397.00 – $36,892.20
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah not published $7,277.00 – $57,956.46
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia not published $14,867.06 – $69,619.15
Swedish Edmonds Hospital Edmonds not published $2,836.00 – $57,599.44

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →