Prednisone 1 mg tablet at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital

420 34th St., Bakersfield, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1467538520

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Feb 28, 2026 · Ingested Sep 10, 2026

$2.21

Cash price

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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.

Full explanation →

What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$6.00

Gross charge

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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.

Full explanation →

The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$0.01 with BCBS - Anthem vs $3.24 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 →

Payer
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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
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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
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|All Plans $0.01 ↓ -100%
United Commercial|HMO $0.02 ↓ -99%
United Commercial|Options PPO $0.02 ↓ -99%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $0.03 ↓ -99%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|All Other Plans $0.23 ↓ -90%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $0.23 ↓ -90%
Health Net Commercial|Exchange $0.24 ↓ -89%
Health Net Commercial|Care Product $0.28 ↓ -87%
Health Net Commercial|All Other Plans $0.34 ↓ -85%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Exchange $0.41 ↓ -81%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $0.48 ↓ -78%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $0.65 ↓ -71%
CHN Sun View Commercial|All Plans $1.60 ↓ -28%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $1.64 ↓ -26%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $1.64 ↓ -26%
Western Growers Commercial|All Plans $2.00 ↓ -10%
HPN Commercial|All Plans $2.04 ↓ -8%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $2.36 ↑ +7%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $2.80 ↑ +27%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $3.04 ↑ +38%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $3.16 ↑ +43%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|PremerTiered $3.24 ↑ +47%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
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Prednisone 1 mg tablet at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $2.97 $0.02 – $3.20
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $6.57 $0.02 – $11.70
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $0.50 $0.78 – $1.84
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $5.61 $0.01 – $3.07
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $3.43 $0.02 – $2.94
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $2.67 $1.04 – $3.92
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $4.32 $0.02 – $2.94
Queen of The Valley Medical Center Napa $5.61 $0.01 – $3.07

All California hospitals for this procedure →