Surgical pathology level 3 gross & microscopic examination 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

$131.58

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.

$258.00

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.

$40.74 with multiplan vs $206.40 with coventry - first health — 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
multiplan medicare advantage $40.74 ↓ -69%
regence medicare advantage $49.47 ↓ -62%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $58.20 ↓ -56%
optum care network medicare advantage $58.20 ↓ -56%
humana medicare advantage $58.20 ↓ -56%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $58.20 ↓ -56%
united healthcare medicare advantage $58.20 ↓ -56%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $59.95 ↓ -54%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $61.11 ↓ -54%
regence uniform medical plan $139.63 ↑ +6%
kaiser health plan commercial $148.51 ↑ +13%
premera commercial $154.80 ↑ +18%
aetna commercial $162.54 ↑ +24%
first choice commercial $165.25 ↑ +26%
regence commercial $168.63 ↑ +28%
cigna commercial $173.47 ↑ +32%
cigna local plus $190.51 ↑ +45%
united healthcare commercial $196.78 ↑ +50%
coventry - first health commercial $206.40 ↑ +57%

Visitor-reported prices

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Surgical pathology level 3 gross & microscopic examination at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $114.24 $60.34 – $232.51
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $114.24 $60.34 – $225.09
Central Medical Center Seattle $225.60 $158.00 – $158.00
Providence St Joseph Hospital Chewelah $160.30 not published
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $392.70 $58.07 – $178.09
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $114.24 $60.51 – $232.51
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia $94.12 $60.34 – $308.20
Providence Mount Carmel Hospital Colville $96.60 not published

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →