Remove brain canal fluid 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

$454.30

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.

Full explanation →

What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$1,298.00

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.

$394.79 with Aetna vs $3,623.00 with Blue Cross — 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
Aetna Medicare Managed Care Plan $394.79 ↓ -13%
Humana Medicare Managed Care Plan $402.69 ↓ -11%
Blue Cross Anthem Vivity City Of La Other Commercial Plan $413.61 ↓ -9%
Central Health Plan Medicare Managed Care Plan $434.27 ↓ -4%
Blue Cross Anthem Vivity Non City Of La Other Commercial Plan $465.85 ↑ +3%
La Care Health Plan Exchange $513.23 ↑ +13%
Healthnet Blue And Gold Other Commercial Plan $601.00 ↑ +32%
Healthnet Ambetter Hmo $730.36 ↑ +61%
Healthnet Ambetter Ppo $844.85 ↑ +86%
Healthnet Ppo/Epo $970.00 ↑ +114%
Healthnet Hmo/Pos $970.00 ↑ +114%
Blue Shield Medicare Managed Care Plan $1,142.00 ↑ +151%
Unitedhealthcare Select/Navigate Hmo $1,311.00 ↑ +189%
Unitedhealthcare All Commercial Plans $1,485.00 ↑ +227%
Cigna Oap Hmo/Pos $2,581.00 ↑ +468%
Cigna Ppo $2,581.00 ↑ +468%
Blue Shield Epn/Ifp Benefit Exchange $2,624.00 ↑ +478%
Blue Shield Tandem Ppo/Blue High Performance Ppo/Epo $2,812.00 ↑ +519%
Blue Shield Hmo/Ppo/Epo $3,126.00 ↑ +588%
Blue Cross All Commercial Plans $3,623.00 ↑ +697%

Visitor-reported prices

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Remove brain canal fluid at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $1,124.51 $87.15 – $2,328.00
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $1,112.38 $87.15 – $2,394.49
California Hospital Medical Center Los Angeles $1,198.92 $87.15 – $1,952.88
Mercy San Juan Medical Center Carmichael $195.64 $78.54 – $592.62
Mercy General Hospital Sacramento $155.66 $81.27 – $571.20
Mercy Hospital of Folsom Folsom $277.75 $78.54 – $585.48
Woodland Memorial Hospital Woodland $195.64 $78.54 – $714.00
Methodist Hospital of Sacramento Sacramento $205.64 $81.27 – $592.62

All California hospitals for this procedure →