Assay of urine sulfate at St. Mary Medical Center

1050 Linden Ave, Long Beach, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1194840421

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

$7.80

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.

$18.13

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.

$4.54 with DHR vs $31.50 with Blue Shield CA — 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
DHR Medicaid|> 21 $4.54 ↓ -42%
DHR Medicaid|< 21 $4.54 ↓ -42%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $5.49 ↓ -30%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $5.49 ↓ -30%
Cigna Medicare|All Plans $5.49 ↓ -30%
Health Net Medicare|HMO $5.49 ↓ -30%
Health Net Medicare|All Other Plans $5.49 ↓ -30%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $5.49 ↓ -30%
Central Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $5.49 ↓ -30%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Other Plans $5.49 ↓ -30%
Scan Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $5.49 ↓ -30%
HPN Medicare|Senior $5.49 ↓ -30%
LA Care Medicare|All Plans $5.49 ↓ -30%
EasyChoice Medicare|All Plans $5.49 ↓ -30%
HCLA Medicare|Preferred IPA $5.49 ↓ -30%
SMIPA Medicare|All Plans $5.49 ↓ -30%
United Medicare|All Plans $5.49 ↓ -30%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $5.49 ↓ -30%
Noble IPA Medicaid|> 21 $5.67 ↓ -27%
Noble IPA Medicaid|< 21 $5.67 ↓ -27%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|All Plans $5.94 ↓ -24%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|< 21 $6.30 ↓ -19%
HCLA Medicaid|Preferred IPA < 21 $6.30 ↓ -19%
HCLA Medicaid|Preferred IPA > 21 $6.30 ↓ -19%
Inland Empire Health Plan Medicaid|All Plans $6.30 ↓ -19%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|> 21 $6.30 ↓ -19%
Angeles IPA Medicare|All Plans $6.30 ↓ -19%
Preferred IPA Medicaid|Risk $6.30 ↓ -19%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $6.59 ↓ -16%
United Commercial|Options PPO $6.59 ↓ -16%
United Commercial|HMO $6.59 ↓ -16%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $6.59 ↓ -16%
LA Care Commercial|All Plans $6.86 ↓ -12%
HCLA Commercial|Preferred IPA $6.86 ↓ -12%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|Trauma $6.86 ↓ -12%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $6.89 ↓ -12%
Health Net Medicaid|> 21 $8.40 ↑ +8%
Health Net Medicaid|< 21 $8.40 ↑ +8%
SevenCorners Medicare|All Plans $8.78 ↑ +13%
Molina Medicaid|All Plans $8.82 ↑ +13%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|All Other Plans $8.89 ↑ +14%
Kaiser Medicaid|> 21 $9.45 ↑ +21%
Kaiser Medicaid|< 21 $9.45 ↑ +21%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Exchange $10.52 ↑ +35%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|BlueShield Promise $11.79 ↑ +51%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $12.25 ↑ +57%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $12.25 ↑ +57%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $12.70 ↑ +63%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $14.51 ↑ +86%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $15.78 ↑ +102%
LA Care Medicaid|All Plans $18.09 ↑ +132%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $18.13 ↑ +132%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $18.13 ↑ +132%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $18.13 ↑ +132%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $18.13 ↑ +132%
Care 1st Medicaid|All Plans $31.50 ↑ +304%
Blue Shield CA Medicaid|All Plans $31.50 ↑ +304%

Visitor-reported prices

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Assay of urine sulfate at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $38.19 $1.10 – $21.34
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $17.85 $5.38 – $38.91
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $7.76 $2.50 – $14.15
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $7.11 $1.35 – $16.64
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $3.10 $4.17 – $15.78
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $3.06 $4.17 – $15.78
Queen of The Valley Medical Center Napa $17.85 $5.49 – $49.17
Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka Eureka $17.85 $5.49 – $55.76

All California hospitals for this procedure →