Thoracentesis pleural space needle/catheter aspiration with imaging guidance (both sides) at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital
420 34th St., Bakersfield, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1467538520
$1,531.50
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.
$4,173.00
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.
$105.95 with Molina vs $6,060.00 with Blue Shield CA — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Molina | Medicaid|< 21 | $105.95 | ↓ -93% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|< 21 | $105.95 | ↓ -93% |
| LA Care | Medicaid|< 21 | $105.95 | ↓ -93% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|> 21 | $105.95 | ↓ -93% |
| Care 1st | Medicaid|< 21 | $105.95 | ↓ -93% |
| LA Care | Medicaid|> 21 | $105.95 | ↓ -93% |
| Care 1st | Medicaid|> 21 | $105.95 | ↓ -93% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $105.95 | ↓ -93% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $105.95 | ↓ -93% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|All Plans | $121.88 | ↓ -92% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|< 21 | $163.60 | ↓ -89% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|> 21 | $163.60 | ↓ -89% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|GemCare | $280.62 | ↓ -82% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|Non-GemCare | $379.59 | ↓ -75% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Other Plans | $785.56 | ↓ -49% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $785.56 | ↓ -49% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $785.56 | ↓ -49% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $785.56 | ↓ -49% |
| Health Net | Medicare|All Plans | $785.56 | ↓ -49% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $785.56 | ↓ -49% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Plans | $785.56 | ↓ -49% |
| Scan Health Plan | Medicare|All Plans | $785.56 | ↓ -49% |
| BrightHealth | Commercial|All Plans | $785.56 | ↓ -49% |
| HPN | Medicare|All Plans | $785.56 | ↓ -49% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|Burn | $864.12 | ↓ -44% |
| HPN | Commercial|All Plans | $864.12 | ↓ -44% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $1,068.36 | ↓ -30% |
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $1,079.10 | ↓ -30% |
| CHN Sun View | Commercial|All Plans | $1,275.30 | ↓ -17% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $1,373.40 | ↓ -10% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $1,491.12 | ↓ -3% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $1,549.98 | ↑ +1% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|PremerTiered | $1,589.22 | ↑ +4% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $1,942.38 | ↑ +27% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $1,962.00 | ↑ +28% |
| United | Commercial|Options PPO | $1,962.00 | ↑ +28% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $1,962.00 | ↑ +28% |
| Blue Shield CA | Commercial|Exchange | $2,907.00 | ↑ +90% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Exchange | $3,562.00 | ↑ +133% |
| Health Net | Commercial|Exchange | $3,753.00 | ↑ +145% |
| Aetna | Commercial|HMO | $3,842.00 | ↑ +151% |
| Aetna | Commercial|PPO | $4,056.00 | ↑ +165% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|All Other Plans | $4,142.00 | ↑ +170% |
| Health Net | Commercial|Care Product | $4,377.00 | ↑ +186% |
| Health Net | Commercial|All Other Plans | $5,242.00 | ↑ +242% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $5,592.00 | ↑ +265% |
| Blue Shield CA | Commercial|All Other Plans | $6,060.00 | ↑ +296% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Thoracentesis pleural space needle/catheter aspiration with imaging guidance (both sides) at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $1,548.19 | $105.95 – $1,569.60 |
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $734.53 | $130.32 – $1,452.04 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $1,090.98 | $152.34 – $1,351.21 |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital | Petaluma | $2,134.86 | $845.36 – $2,695.00 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $2,178.52 | $105.95 – $2,878.26 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $3,367.30 | $68.82 – $260.68 |
| French Hospital | San Luis Obispo | $1,918.84 | $105.95 – $1,774.78 |
| Queen of The Valley Medical Center | Napa | $4,569.09 | $890.68 – $6,200.00 |