Serial tonometry 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

$47.94

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.

$94.00

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.

$2.48 with first choice vs $918.66 with aetna — 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 $2.48 ↓ -95%
united healthcare commercial $33.52 ↓ -30%
humana medicare advantage $33.76 ↓ -30%
united healthcare medicare advantage $33.76 ↓ -30%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $33.76 ↓ -30%
optum care network medicare advantage $33.76 ↓ -30%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $33.76 ↓ -30%
signal health medicare advantage $34.74 ↓ -28%
multiplan medicare advantage $34.74 ↓ -28%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $34.74 ↓ -28%
regence medicare advantage $36.17 ↓ -25%
premera commercial $56.40 ↑ +18%
kaiser health plan commercial $56.68 ↑ +18%
aetna commercial $59.22 ↑ +24%
regence uniform medical plan $59.41 ↑ +24%
regence commercial $65.80 ↑ +37%
cigna commercial $69.41 ↑ +45%
cigna local plus $69.41 ↑ +45%
confluence health medicare advantage $69.44 ↑ +45%
coventry - first health commercial $75.20 ↑ +57%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $306.21 ↑ +539%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $776.02 ↑ +1519%
aetna medicare advantage $918.66 ↑ +1816%

Visitor-reported prices

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Serial tonometry at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $174.72 not published
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $174.72 not published
Providence St Joseph Hospital Chewelah $109.20 not published
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $123.20 not published
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $174.72 not published
Providence Mount Carmel Hospital Colville $103.60 not published
Providence St Mary Medical Center Walla Walla $193.20 not published
Kadlec Regional Medical Center Richland $212.80 $53.93 – $53.93

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →