Vital capacity test 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

$113.40

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.

$324.00

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.

$20.68 with Blue Cross vs $354.16 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 $20.68 ↓ -82%
Blue Shield Medicare Managed Care Plan $74.79 ↓ -34%
Blue Shield Epn/Ifp Benefit Exchange $76.28 ↓ -33%
Blue Shield Tandem Ppo/Blue High Performance Ppo/Epo $82.02 ↓ -28%
Blue Shield Hmo/Ppo/Epo $90.94 ↓ -20%
Aetna Medicare Managed Care Plan $165.49 ↑ +46%
Humana Medicare Managed Care Plan $168.80 ↑ +49%
Blue Cross Anthem Vivity City Of La Other Commercial Plan $173.39 ↑ +53%
Central Health Plan Medicare Managed Care Plan $182.04 ↑ +61%
Blue Cross Anthem Vivity Non City Of La Other Commercial Plan $195.28 ↑ +72%
La Care Health Plan Exchange $215.14 ↑ +90%
Healthnet Ambetter Hmo $306.17 ↑ +170%
Healthnet Ambetter Ppo $354.16 ↑ +212%

Visitor-reported prices

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Vital capacity test at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $107.31 $7.86 – $365.02
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $53.86 $9.19 – $96.03
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $230.52 $25.01 – $176.94
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $85.60 $6.39 – $198.80
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $128.54 $6.39 – $188.16
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $76.44 $6.39 – $195.00
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $122.81 $6.39 – $264.80
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $121.48 $6.39 – $261.49

All California hospitals for this procedure →