Contrast x-ray of knee joint at St Jude Medical Center

101 E Valencia Mesa Dr, Fullerton, CA · Providence · · NPI 1194926279

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

$610.08

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.

Full explanation →

What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$1,271.00

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.

Full explanation →

The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$381.40 with Providence vs $1,112.68 with Blue Cross — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
?

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
Providence Oscar All Commercial Plans $381.40 ↓ -37%
Aetna Medicare Managed Care Plan $448.71 ↓ -26%
Blue Cross Anthem Vivity City Of La Other Commercial Plan $470.10 ↓ -23%
Blue Cross Anthem Vivity Non City Of La Other Commercial Plan $529.47 ↓ -13%
Aetna Gatekeeper Hmo $589.53 ↓ -3%
Unitedhealthcare All Commercial Plans $610.96 ↑ +0%
Unitedhealthcare Select/Navigate Hmo $610.96 ↑ +0%
Healthnet Ambetter Hmo $830.11 ↑ +36%
Blue Cross Anthem Non-Mcs (Ind1, Ncx1, Ncx3) All Commercial Plans $927.23 ↑ +52%
Blue Cross Anthem Mcs (Indx) All Commercial Plans $1,112.68 ↑ +82%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Contrast x-ray of knee joint at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $853.23 $150.22 – $1,782.69
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $747.65 $114.21 – $684.82
Queen of The Valley Medical Center Napa $1,195.44 $495.35 – $773.42
Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka Eureka $1,026.12 $448.71 – $877.06
Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital Santa Rosa $1,481.04 $485.45 – $657.99
Providence Mission Hospital - Mission Viejo Mission Viejo $697.92 $381.40 – $830.11
Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center Tarzana $587.30 $230.94 – $1,229.72
Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center Burbank $812.70 $187.11 – $1,225.18

All California hospitals for this procedure →