Search

Determining Cost

Understanding the cost of an imaging exam involves more than just knowing the price. The final cost of an exam for each individual will be different because of variables such as level of coverage, personal and family deductibles, coinsurance, and your insurance company's contract with the imaging facility. Take a look at this chart to navigate these variables and find out how much your exam will likely cost.

Radia Tax ID Numbers

Radia Inc., P.S.: 91-1853574

Evergreen Radia Imaging Center: 20-0143152

Seattle Radiology (Radia Imaging Center Holdings): 83-1851140

South Sound Radiology: 91-0890139

Swedish Radia Imaging Center: 20-3355320

Vancouver Radiologists (Radia Imaging Center Holdings): 83-1851140

What if I Do Not Have Insurance?

For patients who do not currently have insurance, the six Radia outpatient facilities: Evergreen Radia, Swedish Radia Imaging Center at Edmonds, South Sound Radiology, Seattle Radiology, Vancouver Radiology - South View, and Vancouver Radiology - Village offer a significant discount for patients paying at the time of service. Radia can also work with you on a payment plan.

 

Understanding the Impact of Insurance Variables

Three friends each received a quote from Radia for $500 for an abdominal ultrasound, but all ended up paying very different out-of-pocket amounts. Why the difference? Take a look at this chart for a case analysis that takes into account each individual's insurance plan.

 

What if I Had My Exam at a Partner Hospital or Clinic?

If you had your exam at a hospital or clinic rather than a Radia outpatient center, the cost of your exam is divided between Radia Professional Services and the facility where your exam was performed. For this reason, you may receive two bills in the mail. One for the actual exam (from the hospital or clinic partner), and one for the radiologist's interpretation of the image generated by your exam (from Radia, Inc. P.S.) Click on the link below to see a sample of a bill from Radia. 

 

Example of a Radia Bill

Balance Billing Protection Act

Insurance Terms Glossary

Allowed Amount

The “allowed amount” is the total amount Radia is expected to receive for a given procedure. These amounts are negotiated between Radia and your insurance company.

Co-Insurance

Co-insurance is a feature of some insurance plans that determines how much responsibility a patient has for a remaining bill after the annual deductible has been satisfied. If you have no co-insurance on your plan, your insurance company pays for 100% of the remaining amount. If you have 20% co-insurance (for example) you are responsible for 20% of the remaining amount and your insurance company is responsible for 80%.

Contracted Rate

See: Allowed Amount

CPT Code

CPT codes are the way we identify a specific radiologic exam for billing purposes. Your insurance company representative may ask for the CPT code of the exam your provider has ordered so he/she can identify the allowed amount for that exam. If you don't know the CPT code for your exam, please give one of our imaging centers a call! We'd be happy to help.

Deductible

An annual deductible is the amount the insurance plan-holder must pay out-of-pocket in a calendar year before insurance starts to help out. If you have a $500 deductible, you are responsible for paying $500 towards your medical expenses before your insurance plan benefits kick in.

Diagnosis Code

Diagnosis codes are the codes your care provider uses to tell your insurance company and your imaging provider what they are looking for in an exam. The insurance companies use this code by comparing it to the CPT code of the exam being ordered to make sure the right exam has been ordered.

Global Billing

Global billing is the practice of combining bills for two separate services so the patient is only required to pay one bill. Radia uses global billing in its outpatient imaging centers. Every time you visit a Radia outpatient center, two services are being performed: One service is the exam itself and one service is the radiologist sitting down to read and interpret the images created by the machine during your exam. Because Radia, Inc., P.S. (our group of radiologists) works so closely with our outpatient centers, we are able to bill both services together.

List Charge

The list charge is how much Radia charges for a particular exam before any discounts are applied. For insurance companies, it's the most Radia would ever ask an insurance company to cover for an exam (typically the amount is negotiated lower - see "allowed amount"). For uninsured patients, it's the most an exam would cost if you paid it all out-of-pocket, and did not qualify for additional discounts.

Out-of-pocket Cost

Out-of-pocket cost is the amount a patient will owe a provider for their services after all discounts, deductibles, co-insurance and other factors have been applied. A patient's out-of-pocket cost is highly dependent on the individual's insurance plan. We encourage all patients to call their insurance plan when trying to determine the out-of-pocket cost for a specific exam.

Prior Authorization

Some insurance companies or plans require prior authorization before a patient is able to have an imaging exam. This means that the insurance company may require chart notes from your doctor to ensure that the exam being ordered is necessary. In most cases, representatives from the facility where your exam will be performed will work with your referring doctor to get the insurance company the information it needs to make its determination.

If your insurance company requires authorization, but decides not  to grant it for your exam (denies coverage), the insurance company will typically not pay for the cost of the exam, even if your deductible has been met. We encourage all patients to find out from their insurance company whether the exam they need is covered, and whether an authorization is required ahead of time.

Tax ID Number

A tax ID number is the identifying number given to an organization (or in some cases, a person) for tax purposes. Regarding insurance, it is the number used to identify an organization as a unique billing entity. Radia as a whole has seven unique billing identities - Our six imaging centers: Evergreen Radia Imaging Center, Swedish Radia Imaging Center at Edmonds, South Sound Radiology, Seattle Radiology, Vancouver Radiology - South View, Vancouver Radiology - Village and our group of radiologists, Radia Inc., PS.