Tilt table study at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital
420 34th St., Bakersfield, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1467538520
$671.61
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.
$1,830.00
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.
$138.18 with BCBS - Anthem vs $14,561.00 with United — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|All Plans | $138.18 | ↓ -79% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|> 21 | $461.97 | ↓ -31% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|< 21 | $461.97 | ↓ -31% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $674.18 | ↑ +0% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $674.18 | ↑ +0% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $674.18 | ↑ +0% |
| Health Net | Medicare|All Plans | $674.18 | ↑ +0% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $674.18 | ↑ +0% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Other Plans | $674.18 | ↑ +0% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Plans | $674.18 | ↑ +0% |
| Scan Health Plan | Medicare|All Plans | $674.18 | ↑ +0% |
| BrightHealth | Commercial|All Plans | $674.18 | ↑ +0% |
| HPN | Medicare|All Plans | $674.18 | ↑ +0% |
| HPN | Commercial|All Plans | $741.60 | ↑ +10% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|Burn | $741.60 | ↑ +10% |
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $855.50 | ↑ +27% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $916.88 | ↑ +37% |
| CHN Sun View | Commercial|All Plans | $1,112.15 | ↑ +66% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $1,197.70 | ↑ +78% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $1,300.36 | ↑ +94% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $1,351.69 | ↑ +101% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|PremerTiered | $1,385.91 | ↑ +106% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $1,711.00 | ↑ +155% |
| Health Net | Commercial|Exchange | $3,753.00 | ↑ +459% |
| Health Net | Commercial|Care Product | $4,377.00 | ↑ +552% |
| Health Net | Commercial|All Other Plans | $5,242.00 | ↑ +681% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $11,631.00 | ↑ +1632% |
| United | Commercial|Options PPO | $14,561.00 | ↑ +2068% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $14,561.00 | ↑ +2068% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Tilt table study at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $678.93 | $494.10 – $1,464.00 |
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $1,588.63 | $674.18 – $2,829.06 |
| Redwood City Medical Center | Redwood City | $4,659.20 | not published |
| Santa Clara Medical Center | SANTA CLARA | $4,659.20 | not published |
| Baldwin Park Medical Center | BALDWIN PARK | $1,622.40 | not published |
| Riverside Medical Center | RIVERSIDE | $1,622.40 | not published |
| Sacramento Medical Center | SACRAMENTO | $4,659.20 | not published |
| Oakland Medical Center | Oakland | $4,659.20 | not published |