Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (without contrast) at Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield
2215 Truxtun Ave., Bakersfield, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1104981661
$1,702.52
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.
$4,589.00
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.
$266.80 with LA Care vs $5,490.00 with BCBS - Anthem — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| LA Care | Medicaid|> 21 | $266.80 | ↓ -84% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|< 21 | $266.80 | ↓ -84% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|> 21 | $266.80 | ↓ -84% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|< 21 | $266.80 | ↓ -84% |
| LA Care | Medicaid|< 21 | $266.80 | ↓ -84% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $266.80 | ↓ -84% |
| Care 1st | Medicaid|> 21 | $266.80 | ↓ -84% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $266.80 | ↓ -84% |
| Care 1st | Medicaid|< 21 | $266.80 | ↓ -84% |
| Molina | Medicaid|< 21 | $266.80 | ↓ -84% |
| Molina | Medicaid|> 21 | $266.80 | ↓ -84% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|> 21 | $266.80 | ↓ -84% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Plans | $307.13 | ↓ -82% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $307.13 | ↓ -82% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $307.13 | ↓ -82% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $307.13 | ↓ -82% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $307.13 | ↓ -82% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Plans | $307.13 | ↓ -82% |
| HPN | Medicare|All Plans | $307.13 | ↓ -82% |
| HPN | Commercial|All Plans | $337.84 | ↓ -80% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|> 21 | $374.85 | ↓ -78% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|< 21 | $374.85 | ↓ -78% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $517.79 | ↓ -70% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $517.79 | ↓ -70% |
| United | Commercial|Options PPO | $517.79 | ↓ -70% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $517.79 | ↓ -70% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|GemCare | $642.99 | ↓ -62% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $687.97 | ↓ -60% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|Non-GemCare | $869.77 | ↓ -49% |
| Cigna | Commercial|PPO | $1,356.00 | ↓ -20% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $1,356.00 | ↓ -20% |
| Aetna | Commercial|HMO | $1,518.89 | ↓ -11% |
| Aetna | Commercial|PPO | $1,594.30 | ↓ -6% |
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $2,294.50 | ↑ +35% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Exchange | $2,969.00 | ↑ +74% |
| CHN Sun View | Commercial|All Plans | $2,982.85 | ↑ +75% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $3,212.30 | ↑ +89% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $3,487.64 | ↑ +105% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $3,671.20 | ↑ +116% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|All Other Plans | $4,067.00 | ↑ +139% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $5,490.00 | ↑ +222% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (without contrast) at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $1,684.17 | $266.80 – $3,625.31 |
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $3,285.00 | $307.13 – $5,850.00 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $2,448.08 | $48.34 – $4,180.70 |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital | Petaluma | $5,534.52 | $321.54 – $2,866.28 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $2,416.49 | $266.80 – $4,191.46 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $6,473.52 | $266.80 – $2,461.76 |
| French Hospital | San Luis Obispo | $1,936.48 | $242.46 – $2,111.00 |
| Queen of The Valley Medical Center | Napa | $9,041.79 | $338.78 – $3,622.27 |