Sigmoidoscopy for bleeding 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

$1,878.84

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.

$3,684.00

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.

$5.07 with aetna vs $2,720.27 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 $5.07 ↓ -100%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $14.18 ↓ -99%
first choice commercial $16.05 ↓ -99%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $107.04 ↓ -94%
united healthcare commercial $121.05 ↓ -94%
humana medicare advantage $123.43 ↓ -93%
optum care network medicare advantage $123.43 ↓ -93%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $123.43 ↓ -93%
united healthcare medicare advantage $123.43 ↓ -93%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $123.43 ↓ -93%
signal health medicare advantage $126.61 ↓ -93%
multiplan medicare advantage $126.61 ↓ -93%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $126.61 ↓ -93%
regence medicare advantage $130.60 ↓ -93%
confluence health medicare advantage $137.00 ↓ -93%
regence uniform medical plan $216.39 ↓ -88%
premera commercial $256.07 ↓ -86%
cigna commercial $399.69 ↓ -79%
coventry - first health commercial $434.98 ↓ -77%
kaiser health plan commercial $550.04 ↓ -71%
regence commercial $1,235.04 ↓ -34%
aetna commercial $2,320.92 ↑ +24%
cigna local plus $2,720.27 ↑ +45%

Visitor-reported prices

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Sigmoidoscopy for bleeding at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $2,525.76 $1,385.70 – $4,719.83
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $2,525.76 $1,385.70 – $4,569.20
Central Medical Center Seattle not published not published
Providence St Joseph Hospital Chewelah $1,890.00 not published
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $2,118.20 $1,333.47 – $3,393.68
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $2,525.76 $1,389.59 – $4,719.83
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia $2,139.80 $1,385.70 – $5,874.69
Providence Mount Carmel Hospital Colville $1,894.90 not published

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →