Observation per hour at St. Mary Medical Center
1050 Linden Ave, Long Beach, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1194840421
$196.94
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.
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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
$458.00
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.
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The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$42.75 with DHR vs $10,041.00 with United — 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 →
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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 ?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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| DHR | Medicaid|> 21 | $42.75 | ↓ -78% |
| DHR | Medicaid|< 21 | $42.75 | ↓ -78% |
| Blue Shield CA | Commercial|Exchange | $66.00 | ↓ -66% |
| Blue Shield CA | Commercial|All Other Plans | $72.00 | ↓ -63% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Exchange | $85.50 | ↓ -57% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|BlueShield Promise | $111.15 | ↓ -44% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Other Plans | $113.00 | ↓ -43% |
| Cigna | Commercial|PPO | $114.57 | ↓ -42% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $114.57 | ↓ -42% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $119.70 | ↓ -39% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|All Other Plans | $126.54 | ↓ -36% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $136.80 | ↓ -31% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $171.00 | ↓ -13% |
| SMIPA | Medicare|All Plans | $171.00 | ↓ -13% |
| LA Care | Medicaid|All Plans | $1,424.00 | ↑ +623% |
| Molina | Medicaid|All Plans | $1,428.00 | ↑ +625% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $8,063.00 | ↑ +3994% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $8,185.00 | ↑ +4056% |
| United | Commercial|Options PPO | $10,041.00 | ↑ +4999% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $10,041.00 | ↑ +4999% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Observation per hour at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $328.07 | $34.56 – $3,227.50 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $66.74 | $44.28 – $104.76 |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital | Petaluma | $141.27 | not published |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $198.60 | $63.00 – $257.00 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $168.50 | $65.46 – $247.94 |
| French Hospital | San Luis Obispo | $178.36 | $59.13 – $214.62 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $129.48 | $59.50 – $1,374.00 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $144.24 | $25.00 – $1,298.00 |