Myelography neck spine at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital
420 34th St., Bakersfield, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1467538520
$1,348.00
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.
$3,673.00
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.
$125.58 with Kaiser vs $3,751.09 with Cigna — 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 | Medicaid|> 21 | $125.58 | ↓ -91% |
| Care 1st | Medicaid|> 21 | $125.58 | ↓ -91% |
| LA Care | Medicaid|> 21 | $125.58 | ↓ -91% |
| LA Care | Medicaid|< 21 | $125.58 | ↓ -91% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $125.58 | ↓ -91% |
| Molina | Medicaid|< 21 | $125.58 | ↓ -91% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|< 21 | $125.58 | ↓ -91% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $125.58 | ↓ -91% |
| Care 1st | Medicaid|< 21 | $125.58 | ↓ -91% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|> 21 | $176.44 | ↓ -87% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|< 21 | $176.44 | ↓ -87% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|All Plans | $203.76 | ↓ -85% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|GemCare | $302.65 | ↓ -78% |
| Aetna | Commercial|HMO | $399.51 | ↓ -70% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|Non-GemCare | $409.39 | ↓ -70% |
| Aetna | Commercial|PPO | $429.67 | ↓ -68% |
| Health Net | Medicare|All Plans | $1,003.85 | ↓ -26% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $1,003.85 | ↓ -26% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $1,003.85 | ↓ -26% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Other Plans | $1,003.85 | ↓ -26% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Plans | $1,003.85 | ↓ -26% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $1,003.85 | ↓ -26% |
| Scan Health Plan | Medicare|All Plans | $1,003.85 | ↓ -26% |
| BrightHealth | Commercial|All Plans | $1,003.85 | ↓ -26% |
| HPN | Medicare|All Plans | $1,003.85 | ↓ -26% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $1,003.85 | ↓ -26% |
| HPN | Commercial|All Plans | $1,104.23 | ↓ -18% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|Burn | $1,104.24 | ↓ -18% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $1,365.24 | ↑ +1% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Exchange | $1,435.01 | ↑ +6% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $1,609.16 | ↑ +19% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $1,609.16 | ↑ +19% |
| United | Commercial|Options PPO | $1,609.16 | ↑ +19% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $1,609.16 | ↑ +19% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|All Other Plans | $1,667.82 | ↑ +24% |
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $1,836.50 | ↑ +36% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $2,251.85 | ↑ +67% |
| CHN Sun View | Commercial|All Plans | $2,387.45 | ↑ +77% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|PremerTiered | $2,424.18 | ↑ +80% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $2,571.10 | ↑ +91% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $2,791.48 | ↑ +107% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $2,901.67 | ↑ +115% |
| Cigna | Commercial|PPO | $3,751.09 | ↑ +178% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $3,751.09 | ↑ +178% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Myelography neck spine at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $1,362.69 | $125.58 – $3,751.09 |
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $844.47 | $189.99 – $3,463.45 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $1,375.63 | $144.46 – $2,034.09 |
| Queen of The Valley Medical Center | Napa | $3,421.08 | $807.98 – $1,393.90 |
| St. Joseph's Medical Center Stockton | Stockton | $1,308.89 | $125.58 – $1,036.00 |
| Providence Mission Hospital - Mission Viejo | Mission Viejo | $1,277.76 | $570.12 – $1,865.27 |
| Mercy Medical Center Merced | Merced | $1,972.45 | $125.58 – $873.40 |
| Dominican Hospital | Santa Cruz | $2,306.70 | $125.58 – $11,688.52 |