Thoracentesis pleural space needle/catheter aspiration with imaging guidance (both sides) at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center
501 S Buena Vista, Burbank, CA · Providence · · NPI 1336173269
$3,179.75
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.
$9,085.00
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.
$806.82 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 →
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aetna | Medicare Managed Care Plan | $806.82 | ↓ -75% |
| Humana | Medicare Managed Care Plan | $822.95 | ↓ -74% |
| Blue Cross | Anthem Vivity City Of La Other Commercial Plan | $845.28 | ↓ -73% |
| Central Health Plan | Medicare Managed Care Plan | $887.50 | ↓ -72% |
| Blue Cross | Anthem Vivity Non City Of La Other Commercial Plan | $952.03 | ↓ -70% |
| La Care Health Plan | Exchange | $1,048.86 | ↓ -67% |
| Blue Shield | Medicare Managed Care Plan | $1,142.00 | ↓ -64% |
| Healthnet | Blue And Gold Other Commercial Plan | $1,484.00 | ↓ -53% |
| Healthnet | Ambetter Hmo | $1,492.61 | ↓ -53% |
| Healthnet | Ambetter Ppo | $1,726.59 | ↓ -46% |
| Unitedhealthcare | Select/Navigate Hmo | $1,807.00 | ↓ -43% |
| Unitedhealthcare | All Commercial Plans | $2,047.00 | ↓ -36% |
| Healthnet | Hmo/Pos | $2,391.00 | ↓ -25% |
| Healthnet | Ppo/Epo | $2,391.00 | ↓ -25% |
| Cigna | Ppo | $2,581.00 | ↓ -19% |
| Cigna | Oap Hmo/Pos | $2,581.00 | ↓ -19% |
| Blue Shield | Epn/Ifp Benefit Exchange | $2,624.00 | ↓ -17% |
| Blue Shield | Tandem Ppo/Blue High Performance Ppo/Epo | $2,812.00 | ↓ -12% |
| Blue Shield | Hmo/Ppo/Epo | $3,126.00 | ↓ -2% |
| Blue Cross | All Commercial Plans | $3,623.00 | ↑ +14% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Thoracentesis pleural space needle/catheter aspiration with imaging guidance (both sides) at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $734.53 | $130.32 – $1,452.04 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $1,090.98 | $152.34 – $1,351.21 |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital | Petaluma | $2,134.86 | $845.36 – $2,695.00 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $2,178.52 | $105.95 – $2,878.26 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $3,367.30 | $68.82 – $260.68 |
| French Hospital | San Luis Obispo | $1,918.84 | $105.95 – $1,774.78 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $1,548.19 | $105.95 – $1,569.60 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $1,531.50 | $105.95 – $1,549.98 |