Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) X-ray at Mercy San Juan Medical Center

6501 Coyle Avenue, Carmichael, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1972541498

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Feb 28, 2026 · Ingested Sep 10, 2026

$321.95

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.

$1,175.00

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.

$32.34 with Hill Physicians vs $975.25 with MultiPlan — 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
Hill Physicians Commercial|All Plans $32.34 ↓ -90%
United Medicaid|< 21 $43.45 ↓ -87%
United Medicaid|> 21 $43.45 ↓ -87%
Hill Physicians Medicaid|All Plans $47.80 ↓ -85%
Molina Medicaid|All Plans $56.95 ↓ -82%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|All Plans $82.56 ↓ -74%
California Health & Wellness Medicaid|All Plans $99.50 ↓ -69%
Health Net Medicaid|All Plans $99.50 ↓ -69%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $100.44 ↓ -69%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $100.44 ↓ -69%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $100.44 ↓ -69%
WCMG Commercial|All Plans $129.25 ↓ -60%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Other Plans $131.77 ↓ -59%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|PPO $139.74 ↓ -57%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $139.74 ↓ -57%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $139.74 ↓ -57%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $139.74 ↓ -57%
United Medicare|All Plans $139.74 ↓ -57%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $139.74 ↓ -57%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|HMO $139.74 ↓ -57%
Humana Commercial|All Plans $139.74 ↓ -57%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|Imperial $143.93 ↓ -55%
BrightHealth Commercial|All Plans $153.71 ↓ -52%
BlueShield Medicare|Trauma $174.68 ↓ -46%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|All Plans $186.83 ↓ -42%
Prison Healthcare Medicaid|All Plans $209.61 ↓ -35%
United Commercial|HMO $245.18 ↓ -24%
United Commercial|Options PPO $245.18 ↓ -24%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $245.18 ↓ -24%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $245.18 ↓ -24%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Connection EPO $337.77 ↑ +5%
Western Health Advantage Commercial|All Plans $411.25 ↑ +28%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $422.07 ↑ +31%
Cigna Commercial|LocalPlus $439.91 ↑ +37%
Kaiser Medicaid|All Plans $481.75 ↑ +50%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $586.59 ↑ +82%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $590.96 ↑ +84%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $634.50 ↑ +97%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $881.25 ↑ +174%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $881.25 ↑ +174%
Sutter Health Commercial|All Plans $940.00 ↑ +192%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $975.25 ↑ +203%

Visitor-reported prices

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Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) X-ray at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $448.95 $65.73 – $799.50
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $465.76 $21.27 – $688.70
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $1,443.30 $140.89 – $179.33
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $485.78 $43.45 – $648.76
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $660.68 $43.45 – $292.04
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $284.20 $43.45 – $601.70
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $356.16 $43.45 – $768.00
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $352.32 $43.45 – $758.40

All California hospitals for this procedure →