X-ray spine single view 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

$189.21

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.

$371.00

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.

$0.72 with first choice vs $601.71 with confluence 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
first choice commercial $0.72 ↓ -100%
aetna medicare advantage ppo $23.73 ↓ -87%
aetna medicare advantage $25.97 ↓ -86%
optum care network medicare advantage $27.65 ↓ -85%
kaiser foundation hp medicare $27.65 ↓ -85%
united healthcare medicare advantage $27.65 ↓ -85%
humana choicecare medicare advantage $27.65 ↓ -85%
humana medicare advantage $27.65 ↓ -85%
united healthcare commercial $27.77 ↓ -85%
signal health medicare advantage $28.46 ↓ -85%
multiplan medicare advantage $28.46 ↓ -85%
premera medicare advantage hmo/ppo $28.46 ↓ -85%
regence medicare advantage $29.96 ↓ -84%
aetna medicare advantage hmo $46.26 ↓ -76%
regence uniform medical plan $46.28 ↓ -76%
premera commercial $54.77 ↓ -71%
regence commercial $61.42 ↓ -68%
coventry - first health commercial $64.24 ↓ -66%
kaiser health plan commercial $78.74 ↓ -58%
cigna commercial $91.69 ↓ -52%
aetna commercial $147.64 ↓ -22%
cigna local plus $273.95 ↑ +45%
confluence health medicare advantage $601.71 ↑ +218%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
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X-ray spine single view at other Washington hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Swedish Medical Center - First Hill Campus Seattle $264.48 $100.77 – $375.11
Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill Seattle $264.48 $100.77 – $363.14
Central Medical Center Seattle $304.00 $89.00 – $89.00
Providence St Joseph Hospital Chewelah $374.50 not published
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children's Hospital Spokane $414.40 $96.98 – $287.32
Swedish Issaquah Issaquah $264.48 $69.03 – $375.11
Providence Centralia Hospital Centralia $206.96 $100.77 – $497.22
Providence Mount Carmel Hospital Colville $404.60 not published

All Washington hospitals for this procedure →