MRI chest without & w/contrast at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital
420 34th St., Bakersfield, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1467538520
$1,456.26
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.
$3,968.00
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.
$453.77 with Kaiser vs $3,877.00 with BCBS - Anthem — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -69% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -69% |
| Health Net | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -69% |
| HPN | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -69% |
| BrightHealth | Commercial|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -69% |
| Scan Health Plan | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -69% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -69% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -69% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Other Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -69% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -69% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $472.42 | ↓ -68% |
| Care 1st | Medicaid|> 21 | $472.42 | ↓ -68% |
| Molina | Medicaid|< 21 | $472.42 | ↓ -68% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|< 21 | $472.42 | ↓ -68% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|> 21 | $472.42 | ↓ -68% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $472.42 | ↓ -68% |
| Care 1st | Medicaid|< 21 | $472.42 | ↓ -68% |
| LA Care | Medicaid|< 21 | $472.42 | ↓ -68% |
| LA Care | Medicaid|> 21 | $472.42 | ↓ -68% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|Burn | $499.15 | ↓ -66% |
| HPN | Commercial|All Plans | $499.15 | ↓ -66% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $617.13 | ↓ -58% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|All Plans | $623.59 | ↓ -57% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|< 21 | $663.75 | ↓ -54% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|> 21 | $663.75 | ↓ -54% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $828.27 | ↓ -43% |
| United | Commercial|Options PPO | $828.27 | ↓ -43% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $828.27 | ↓ -43% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $828.27 | ↓ -43% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|GemCare | $1,138.53 | ↓ -22% |
| Cigna | Commercial|PPO | $1,356.00 | ↓ -7% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $1,356.00 | ↓ -7% |
| Aetna | Commercial|HMO | $1,464.62 | ↑ +1% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|Non-GemCare | $1,540.09 | ↑ +6% |
| Aetna | Commercial|PPO | $1,575.17 | ↑ +8% |
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $1,984.00 | ↑ +36% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Exchange | $2,470.00 | ↑ +70% |
| CHN Sun View | Commercial|All Plans | $2,579.20 | ↑ +77% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|PremerTiered | $2,618.88 | ↑ +80% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $2,777.60 | ↑ +91% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|All Other Plans | $2,872.00 | ↑ +97% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $3,015.68 | ↑ +107% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $3,134.72 | ↑ +115% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $3,877.00 | ↑ +166% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
MRI chest without & w/contrast at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $1,472.13 | $453.77 – $3,174.40 |
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $1,777.41 | $453.77 – $3,165.24 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $2,243.46 | $71.43 – $3,131.16 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $3,062.77 | $453.77 – $5,836.88 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $10,625.37 | $472.42 – $3,932.74 |
| French Hospital | San Luis Obispo | $2,366.90 | $453.77 – $2,111.00 |
| Queen of The Valley Medical Center | Napa | $12,829.05 | $495.35 – $7,340.80 |
| Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka | Eureka | $8,540.46 | $448.71 – $8,324.51 |