Rmvl ndwellg tun pleural cath 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

$1,013.66

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.

Full explanation →

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

$2,762.00

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.

Full explanation →

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

$175.16 with Molina vs $7,821.00 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 →

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 $175.16 ↓ -83%
Kaiser Medicaid|< 21 $175.16 ↓ -83%
LA Care Medicaid|< 21 $175.16 ↓ -83%
Kaiser Medicaid|> 21 $175.16 ↓ -83%
Care 1st Medicaid|< 21 $175.16 ↓ -83%
LA Care Medicaid|> 21 $175.16 ↓ -83%
Care 1st Medicaid|> 21 $175.16 ↓ -83%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|< 21 $175.16 ↓ -83%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|> 21 $175.16 ↓ -83%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|All Plans $201.48 ↓ -80%
Kern Health System Medicaid|< 21 $270.46 ↓ -73%
Kern Health System Medicaid|> 21 $270.46 ↓ -73%
Health Net Medicaid|GemCare $463.92 ↓ -54%
Health Net Medicaid|Non-GemCare $627.55 ↓ -38%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Other Plans $785.56 ↓ -23%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $785.56 ↓ -23%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $785.56 ↓ -23%
United Medicare|All Plans $785.56 ↓ -23%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $785.56 ↓ -23%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $785.56 ↓ -23%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $785.56 ↓ -23%
Scan Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $785.56 ↓ -23%
BrightHealth Commercial|All Plans $785.56 ↓ -23%
HPN Medicare|All Plans $785.56 ↓ -23%
HPN Commercial|All Plans $864.12 ↓ -15%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|Burn $864.12 ↓ -15%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $898.00 ↓ -11%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $1,068.36 ↑ +5%
Western Growers Commercial|All Plans $1,519.10 ↑ +50%
CHN Sun View Commercial|All Plans $1,795.30 ↑ +77%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|All Other Plans $1,871.00 ↑ +85%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $1,933.40 ↑ +91%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $2,099.12 ↑ +107%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $2,181.98 ↑ +115%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|PremerTiered $2,237.22 ↑ +121%
United Commercial|HMO $2,734.38 ↑ +170%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $2,762.00 ↑ +172%
United Commercial|Options PPO $2,762.00 ↑ +172%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $2,762.00 ↑ +172%
Health Net Commercial|Exchange $3,753.00 ↑ +270%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $3,842.00 ↑ +279%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $4,056.00 ↑ +300%
Health Net Commercial|Care Product $4,377.00 ↑ +332%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Exchange $4,982.00 ↑ +391%
Health Net Commercial|All Other Plans $5,242.00 ↑ +417%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $5,793.00 ↑ +471%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $7,821.00 ↑ +672%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Rmvl ndwellg tun pleural cath at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $1,024.71 $175.16 – $2,209.60
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $686.35 $215.45 – $1,452.04
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $1,171.47 $593.00 – $2,695.00
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $1,459.06 $175.16 – $961.38
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $1,336.33 $125.55 – $465.00
Queen of The Valley Medical Center Napa $1,302.54 $890.68 – $6,200.00
Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka Eureka $1,310.19 $806.82 – $8,018.00
Healdsburg Hospital Healdsburg $710.94 $721.00 – $3,982.87

All California hospitals for this procedure →