Fern test at Mercy Hospital of Folsom

1650 Creekside Dr, Folsom, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1356389878

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

$55.24

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.

$142.00

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.

$9.18 with BCBS - Anthem vs $142.00 with BCBS - Anthem — 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
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Other Plans $9.18 ↓ -83%
Humana Commercial|All Plans $9.74 ↓ -82%
Hill Physicians Commercial|All Plans $9.74 ↓ -82%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $9.74 ↓ -82%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|PPO $9.74 ↓ -82%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $9.74 ↓ -82%
United Medicare|All Plans $9.74 ↓ -82%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|HMO $9.74 ↓ -82%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|Imperial $10.03 ↓ -82%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $11.69 ↓ -79%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $11.69 ↓ -79%
United Commercial|HMO $11.69 ↓ -79%
WCMG Commercial|All Plans $15.62 ↓ -72%
Cigna Commercial|LocalPlus $21.57 ↓ -61%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $28.76 ↓ -48%
Western Health Advantage Commercial|All Plans $49.70 ↓ -10%
Kaiser Medicaid|All Plans $58.22 ↑ +5%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|ACO Trio $78.10 ↑ +41%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Connection EPO $93.59 ↑ +69%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|ACO Trio CalPers $100.82 ↑ +83%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $102.24 ↑ +85%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $106.50 ↑ +93%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $106.50 ↑ +93%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $112.18 ↑ +103%
Sutter Health Commercial|All Plans $113.60 ↑ +106%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $116.44 ↑ +111%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $117.05 ↑ +112%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|PPO Tandem $123.54 ↑ +124%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|All Other Plans $127.80 ↑ +131%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|HMO $127.80 ↑ +131%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|CalPers $130.64 ↑ +136%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $142.00 ↑ +157%

Visitor-reported prices

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Fern test at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $41.32 $1.95 – $64.02
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $47.86 $9.74 – $86.40
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $47.35 $9.74 – $85.32
St. Joseph's Behavioral Health Center Stockton $65.67 $9.74 – $92.00
St. Joseph's Medical Center Stockton Stockton $76.74 $8.28 – $214.02
Mercy Medical Center Merced Merced $67.98 $9.74 – $124.08
Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital Grass Valley $70.85 $9.74 – $124.46
California Hospital Medical Center Los Angeles $16.98 $8.40 – $27.65

All California hospitals for this procedure →