Repair of kneecap tendon 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

$10,115.34

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.

$19,834.00

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.

$8.68 with aetna vs $14,645.43 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 $8.68 ↓ -100%
first choice commercial $18.38 ↓ -100%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $77.05 ↓ -99%
confluence health medicare advantage $185.70 ↓ -98%
aetna medicare advantage $360.26 ↓ -96%
united healthcare commercial $678.26 ↓ -93%
humana medicare advantage $691.66 ↓ -93%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $691.66 ↓ -93%
united healthcare medicare advantage $691.66 ↓ -93%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $691.66 ↓ -93%
optum care network medicare advantage $691.66 ↓ -93%
signal health medicare advantage $708.86 ↓ -93%
multiplan medicare advantage $708.86 ↓ -93%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $708.86 ↓ -93%
regence medicare advantage $731.80 ↓ -93%
regence uniform medical plan $1,181.38 ↓ -88%
premera commercial $1,398.05 ↓ -86%
coventry - first health commercial $1,484.56 ↓ -85%
regence commercial $1,567.87 ↓ -85%
cigna commercial $2,239.55 ↓ -78%
kaiser health plan commercial $2,511.65 ↓ -75%
aetna commercial $4,497.00 ↓ -56%
cigna local plus $14,645.43 ↑ +45%

Visitor-reported prices

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Repair of kneecap tendon at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $19,517.76 $7,277.00 – $29,132.10
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $19,517.76 $7,277.00 – $28,055.35
Central Medical Center Seattle not published not published
Providence St Joseph Hospital Chewelah $9,897.30 not published
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $15,660.40 $6,022.00 – $20,578.67
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $19,517.76 $7,277.00 – $29,132.10
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia $15,280.72 $7,984.74 – $34,994.41
Providence Mount Carmel Hospital Colville $11,575.90 not published

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →