Repair esophagus opening 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

$3,306.33

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.

$6,483.00

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.

$3.92 with aetna vs $4,787.05 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
aetna medicare advantage ppo $3.92 ↓ -100%
confluence health medicare advantage $13.54 ↓ -100%
aetna medicare advantage $27.17 ↓ -99%
first choice commercial $29.54 ↓ -99%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $41.68 ↓ -99%
united healthcare commercial $1,069.56 ↓ -68%
humana medicare advantage $1,087.10 ↓ -67%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $1,087.10 ↓ -67%
united healthcare medicare advantage $1,087.10 ↓ -67%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $1,087.10 ↓ -67%
optum care network medicare advantage $1,087.10 ↓ -67%
signal health medicare advantage $1,114.83 ↓ -66%
multiplan medicare advantage $1,114.83 ↓ -66%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $1,114.83 ↓ -66%
regence medicare advantage $1,153.99 ↓ -65%
regence uniform medical plan $1,908.10 ↓ -42%
premera commercial $2,258.05 ↓ -32%
regence commercial $2,532.33 ↓ -23%
coventry - first health commercial $2,612.69 ↓ -21%
cigna commercial $3,531.61 ↑ +7%
kaiser health plan commercial $3,909.25 ↑ +18%
aetna commercial $4,084.29 ↑ +24%
cigna local plus $4,787.05 ↑ +45%

Visitor-reported prices

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Repair esophagus opening 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 St Luke's Rehabilitation Medical Center Spokane not published $3,694.56 – $4,064.02
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane not published $3,694.56 – $9,402.66
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah not published $3,850.04 – $12,755.94
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia not published $3,839.27 – $15,322.85
Swedish Edmonds Hospital Edmonds not published $2,225.00 – $12,677.36

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →