Brain MRA (blood vessel MRI, with contrast) at Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka

2700 Dolbeer St, Eureka, CA · Providence · · NPI 1609858950

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

$2,615.28

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.

$5,128.00

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.

$448.71 with Aetna vs $4,572.25 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 $448.71 ↓ -83%
Unitedhealthcare All Commercial Plans $610.96 ↓ -77%
Unitedhealthcare Select/Navigate Hmo $610.96 ↓ -77%
Blue Cross Anthem Non-Mcs (Ind1, Ncx3) All Commercial Plans $3,810.20 ↑ +46%
Blue Cross Anthem Mcs (Indx) All Commercial Plans $4,572.25 ↑ +75%

Visitor-reported prices

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Brain MRA (blood vessel MRI, with contrast) at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $2,402.87 $337.04 – $4,279.08
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $698.76 $71.43 – $2,510.36
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $2,600.10 $222.78 – $4,908.82
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $8,432.90 $222.78 – $3,256.54
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $2,072.51 $222.78 – $2,111.00
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $2,556.19 $222.78 – $5,512.00
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $2,528.63 $222.78 – $5,443.10
Queen of The Valley Medical Center Napa $4,620.60 $495.35 – $3,359.95

All California hospitals for this procedure →