Aspirate pleura without imaging 32554 at Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield

2215 Truxtun Ave., Bakersfield, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1104981661

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

$619.20

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.

$1,669.00

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.

$85.02 with Kaiser vs $5,890.00 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
Kaiser Medicaid|< 21 $85.02 ↓ -86%
Care 1st Medicaid|> 21 $85.02 ↓ -86%
LA Care Medicaid|> 21 $85.02 ↓ -86%
LA Care Medicaid|< 21 $85.02 ↓ -86%
Molina Medicaid|< 21 $85.02 ↓ -86%
Molina Medicaid|> 21 $85.02 ↓ -86%
Care 1st Medicaid|< 21 $85.02 ↓ -86%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|> 21 $85.02 ↓ -86%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|< 21 $85.02 ↓ -86%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|> 21 $85.02 ↓ -86%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|< 21 $85.02 ↓ -86%
Kaiser Medicaid|> 21 $85.02 ↓ -86%
Kern Health System Medicaid|> 21 $131.27 ↓ -79%
Kern Health System Medicaid|< 21 $131.27 ↓ -79%
Health Net Medicaid|GemCare $225.17 ↓ -64%
Health Net Medicaid|Non-GemCare $304.58 ↓ -51%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $785.56 ↑ +27%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $785.56 ↑ +27%
United Medicare|All Plans $785.56 ↑ +27%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $785.56 ↑ +27%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $785.56 ↑ +27%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $785.56 ↑ +27%
HPN Medicare|All Plans $785.56 ↑ +27%
HPN Commercial|All Plans $864.12 ↑ +40%
Western Growers Commercial|All Plans $917.95 ↑ +48%
CHN Sun View Commercial|All Plans $1,084.85 ↑ +75%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $1,168.30 ↑ +89%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $1,268.44 ↑ +105%
United Commercial|Options PPO $1,301.82 ↑ +110%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $1,301.82 ↑ +110%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $1,318.51 ↑ +113%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $1,335.20 ↑ +116%
United Commercial|HMO $1,568.86 ↑ +153%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $1,759.65 ↑ +184%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $2,894.00 ↑ +367%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Exchange $3,185.00 ↑ +414%
Health Net Commercial|Community Care PPO $3,469.00 ↑ +460%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $3,573.00 ↑ +477%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $3,747.00 ↑ +505%
Health Net Commercial|Care Product $4,124.00 ↑ +566%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $4,363.00 ↑ +605%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|All Other Plans $4,619.00 ↑ +646%
Health Net Commercial|FFS $4,932.00 ↑ +697%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $5,890.00 ↑ +851%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Aspirate pleura without imaging 32554 at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $612.53 $85.02 – $1,318.51
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $580.35 $104.57 – $1,452.04
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $976.14 $845.36 – $2,695.00
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $2,108.56 $63.13 – $239.12
Queen of The Valley Medical Center Napa $4,047.87 $890.68 – $6,200.00
Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka Eureka $5,978.73 $806.82 – $8,018.00
Healdsburg Hospital Healdsburg $2,204.22 $845.19 – $3,982.87
Redwood Memorial Hospital Fortuna $2,874.87 $3,331.00 – $20,799.00

All California hospitals for this procedure →