MRI chest w IV cont at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital
420 34th St., Bakersfield, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1467538520
$1,187.98
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.
?
What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
$3,237.00
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.
?
The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$374.13 with Care 1st vs $3,877.00 with BCBS - Anthem — same scan, same building. Share
Negotiated rates by payer
?
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 →
?
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Care 1st | Medicaid|< 21 | $374.13 | ↓ -69% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|> 21 | $374.13 | ↓ -69% |
| LA Care | Medicaid|< 21 | $374.13 | ↓ -69% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $374.13 | ↓ -69% |
| Molina | Medicaid|< 21 | $374.13 | ↓ -69% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $374.13 | ↓ -69% |
| LA Care | Medicaid|> 21 | $374.13 | ↓ -69% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|< 21 | $374.13 | ↓ -69% |
| Care 1st | Medicaid|> 21 | $374.13 | ↓ -69% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|All Plans | $493.85 | ↓ -58% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|< 21 | $525.65 | ↓ -56% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|> 21 | $525.65 | ↓ -56% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|GemCare | $901.65 | ↓ -24% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Other Plans | $1,003.85 | ↓ -15% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $1,003.85 | ↓ -15% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $1,003.85 | ↓ -15% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $1,003.85 | ↓ -15% |
| Health Net | Medicare|All Plans | $1,003.85 | ↓ -15% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $1,003.85 | ↓ -15% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Plans | $1,003.85 | ↓ -15% |
| Scan Health Plan | Medicare|All Plans | $1,003.85 | ↓ -15% |
| BrightHealth | Commercial|All Plans | $1,003.85 | ↓ -15% |
| HPN | Medicare|All Plans | $1,003.85 | ↓ -15% |
| HPN | Commercial|All Plans | $1,104.23 | ↓ -7% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|Burn | $1,104.24 | ↓ -7% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|Non-GemCare | $1,219.66 | ↑ +3% |
| Cigna | Commercial|PPO | $1,356.00 | ↑ +14% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $1,356.00 | ↑ +14% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $1,365.24 | ↑ +15% |
| Aetna | Commercial|HMO | $1,464.62 | ↑ +23% |
| Aetna | Commercial|PPO | $1,575.17 | ↑ +33% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $1,609.16 | ↑ +35% |
| United | Commercial|Options PPO | $1,609.16 | ↑ +35% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $1,609.16 | ↑ +35% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $1,609.16 | ↑ +35% |
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $1,618.50 | ↑ +36% |
| CHN Sun View | Commercial|All Plans | $2,104.05 | ↑ +77% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|PremerTiered | $2,136.42 | ↑ +80% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $2,265.90 | ↑ +91% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $2,460.12 | ↑ +107% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Exchange | $2,470.00 | ↑ +108% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $2,557.23 | ↑ +115% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|All Other Plans | $2,872.00 | ↑ +142% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $3,877.00 | ↑ +226% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
MRI chest w IV cont at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $1,200.93 | $374.13 – $2,589.60 |
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $1,777.41 | $566.02 – $3,165.24 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $1,869.55 | $158.01 – $2,609.30 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $2,293.66 | $374.13 – $4,805.92 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $8,668.66 | $374.13 – $3,209.50 |
| French Hospital | San Luis Obispo | $1,830.25 | $374.13 – $2,338.28 |
| Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka | Eureka | $3,994.32 | $1,008.25 – $4,526.67 |
| St. Joseph's Medical Center Stockton | Stockton | $941.39 | $320.46 – $1,526.00 |