Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) X-ray at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital
420 34th St., Bakersfield, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1467538520
$352.32
Cash price 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.
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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
$960.00
Gross charge 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.
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The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$43.45 with Molina vs $758.40 with MultiPlan — 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 →
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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 ?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 ?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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Molina | Medicaid|< 21 | $43.45 | ↓ -88% |
| Care 1st | Medicaid|> 21 | $43.45 | ↓ -88% |
| LA Care | Medicaid|> 21 | $43.45 | ↓ -88% |
| LA Care | Medicaid|< 21 | $43.45 | ↓ -88% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|> 21 | $43.45 | ↓ -88% |
| Care 1st | Medicaid|< 21 | $43.45 | ↓ -88% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $43.45 | ↓ -88% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|< 21 | $43.45 | ↓ -88% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $43.45 | ↓ -88% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|All Plans | $57.35 | ↓ -84% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|< 21 | $61.05 | ↓ -83% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|> 21 | $61.05 | ↓ -83% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|GemCare | $104.71 | ↓ -70% |
| Aetna | Commercial|HMO | $116.38 | ↓ -67% |
| Aetna | Commercial|PPO | $125.17 | ↓ -64% |
| Health Net | Medicare|All Plans | $135.12 | ↓ -62% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $135.12 | ↓ -62% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $135.12 | ↓ -62% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Other Plans | $135.12 | ↓ -62% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Plans | $135.12 | ↓ -62% |
| Scan Health Plan | Medicare|All Plans | $135.12 | ↓ -62% |
| BrightHealth | Commercial|All Plans | $135.12 | ↓ -62% |
| HPN | Medicare|All Plans | $135.12 | ↓ -62% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $135.12 | ↓ -62% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $135.12 | ↓ -62% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|Non-GemCare | $141.65 | ↓ -60% |
| HPN | Commercial|All Plans | $148.63 | ↓ -58% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|Burn | $148.63 | ↓ -58% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $183.76 | ↓ -48% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Exchange | $203.63 | ↓ -42% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|All Other Plans | $236.67 | ↓ -33% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $245.18 | ↓ -30% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $245.18 | ↓ -30% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $245.18 | ↓ -30% |
| United | Commercial|Options PPO | $245.18 | ↓ -30% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $319.55 | ↓ -9% |
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $480.00 | ↑ +36% |
| Cigna | Commercial|PPO | $570.84 | ↑ +62% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $570.84 | ↑ +62% |
| CHN Sun View | Commercial|All Plans | $624.00 | ↑ +77% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|PremerTiered | $633.60 | ↑ +80% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $672.00 | ↑ +91% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $729.60 | ↑ +107% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $758.40 | ↑ +115% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) X-ray at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $356.16 | $43.45 – $768.00 |
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $448.95 | $65.73 – $799.50 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $465.76 | $21.27 – $688.70 |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital | Petaluma | $1,443.30 | $140.89 – $179.33 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $485.78 | $43.45 – $648.76 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $660.68 | $43.45 – $292.04 |
| French Hospital | San Luis Obispo | $284.20 | $43.45 – $601.70 |
| Queen of The Valley Medical Center | Napa | $1,225.02 | $148.44 – $197.80 |