Cytopathology fluids/washings/brushings smears with interpretation at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center

501 S Buena Vista, Burbank, CA · Providence · · NPI 1336173269

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Apr 1, 2026 · Ingested Sep 11, 2026

$42.70

Cash price

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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.

$122.00

Gross charge

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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.

$39.93 with Blue Cross vs $102.80 with Healthnet — 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 →

Payer
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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
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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
Blue Cross All Commercial Plans $39.93 ↓ -6%
Aetna Medicare Managed Care Plan $48.04 ↑ +13%
Humana Medicare Managed Care Plan $49.00 ↑ +15%
Blue Cross Anthem Vivity City Of La Other Commercial Plan $50.33 ↑ +18%
Central Health Plan Medicare Managed Care Plan $52.84 ↑ +24%
Blue Cross Anthem Vivity Non City Of La Other Commercial Plan $56.69 ↑ +33%
La Care Health Plan Exchange $62.45 ↑ +46%
Unitedhealthcare Select/Navigate Hmo $66.86 ↑ +57%
Unitedhealthcare All Commercial Plans $66.86 ↑ +57%
Aetna Aco Other Commercial Plan $68.33 ↑ +60%
Blue Shield Medicare Managed Care Plan $84.32 ↑ +97%
Aetna All Commercial Plans $85.81 ↑ +101%
Blue Shield Epn/Ifp Benefit Exchange $86.00 ↑ +101%
Healthnet Ambetter Hmo $88.87 ↑ +108%
Cigna Oap Hmo/Pos $90.26 ↑ +111%
Cigna Ppo $90.26 ↑ +111%
Blue Shield Tandem Ppo/Blue High Performance Ppo/Epo $92.47 ↑ +117%
Blue Shield Hmo/Ppo/Epo $102.53 ↑ +140%
Healthnet Ambetter Ppo $102.80 ↑ +141%

Visitor-reported prices

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Cytopathology fluids/washings/brushings smears with interpretation at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $67.46 $40.61 – $120.12
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $20.50 $7.85 – $42.60
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $206.04 $50.33 – $66.86
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $19.38 $22.63 – $105.20
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $37.21 $11.39 – $43.12
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $17.75 $12.23 – $123.68
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $43.78 $32.50 – $117.33
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $43.31 $32.50 – $117.33

All California hospitals for this procedure →