Vital capacity test at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital
420 34th St., Bakersfield, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1467538520
$121.48
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.
$331.00
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.
$6.39 with Care 1st vs $331.00 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Care 1st | Medicaid|< 21 | $6.39 | ↓ -95% |
| Care 1st | Medicaid|> 21 | $6.39 | ↓ -95% |
| Molina | Medicaid|< 21 | $6.39 | ↓ -95% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|< 21 | $6.39 | ↓ -95% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|> 21 | $6.39 | ↓ -95% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $6.39 | ↓ -95% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $6.39 | ↓ -95% |
| LA Care | Medicaid|< 21 | $6.39 | ↓ -95% |
| LA Care | Medicaid|> 21 | $6.39 | ↓ -95% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|All Plans | $10.55 | ↓ -91% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|< 21 | $14.23 | ↓ -88% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|> 21 | $14.23 | ↓ -88% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|GemCare | $24.41 | ↓ -80% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|Non-GemCare | $33.02 | ↓ -73% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Exchange | $33.18 | ↓ -73% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|All Other Plans | $38.56 | ↓ -68% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $52.06 | ↓ -57% |
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $165.50 | ↑ +36% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $198.80 | ↑ +64% |
| Health Net | Medicare|All Plans | $198.80 | ↑ +64% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $198.80 | ↑ +64% |
| HPN | Medicare|All Plans | $198.80 | ↑ +64% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Other Plans | $198.80 | ↑ +64% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Plans | $198.80 | ↑ +64% |
| Scan Health Plan | Medicare|All Plans | $198.80 | ↑ +64% |
| BrightHealth | Commercial|All Plans | $198.80 | ↑ +64% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $198.80 | ↑ +64% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $198.80 | ↑ +64% |
| CHN Sun View | Commercial|All Plans | $215.15 | ↑ +77% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|Burn | $218.68 | ↑ +80% |
| HPN | Commercial|All Plans | $218.68 | ↑ +80% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $231.70 | ↑ +91% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $251.56 | ↑ +107% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $261.49 | ↑ +115% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|PremerTiered | $268.11 | ↑ +121% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $270.37 | ↑ +123% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $327.69 | ↑ +170% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $331.00 | ↑ +172% |
| United | Commercial|Options PPO | $331.00 | ↑ +172% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $331.00 | ↑ +172% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Vital capacity test at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $122.81 | $6.39 – $264.80 |
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $107.31 | $7.86 – $365.02 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $53.86 | $9.19 – $96.03 |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital | Petaluma | $230.52 | $25.01 – $176.94 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $85.60 | $6.39 – $198.80 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $128.54 | $6.39 – $188.16 |
| French Hospital | San Luis Obispo | $76.44 | $6.39 – $195.00 |
| Queen of The Valley Medical Center | Napa | $183.60 | $31.60 – $182.70 |