Culture body fluid at California Hospital Medical Center

1401 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1114081056

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

$224.56

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.

$463.00

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.

$4.94 with Blue Shield CA vs $53.85 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
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $4.94 ↓ -98%
DHR Medicaid|< 21 $5.15 ↓ -98%
DHR Medicaid|> 21 $5.15 ↓ -98%
HPN Medicare|Senior $8.62 ↓ -96%
LA Care Medicare|All Plans $8.62 ↓ -96%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Other Plans $8.62 ↓ -96%
HCLA Medicare|Preferred IPA $8.62 ↓ -96%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $8.62 ↓ -96%
Preferred IPA Medicare|All Plans $8.62 ↓ -96%
United Medicare|All Plans $8.62 ↓ -96%
Central Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $8.62 ↓ -96%
Scan Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $8.62 ↓ -96%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $8.62 ↓ -96%
Health Net Medicare|All Other Plans $8.62 ↓ -96%
GlobalCare Commercial|All Plans $8.62 ↓ -96%
Health Net Medicare|Senior $8.62 ↓ -96%
EasyChoice Medicare|All Plans $8.62 ↓ -96%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $8.62 ↓ -96%
Noble IPA Medicare|All Plans $9.05 ↓ -96%
Central California Alliance for Health Medicaid|All Plans $9.61 ↓ -96%
Noble IPA Medicaid|< 21 $9.69 ↓ -96%
Noble IPA Medicaid|> 21 $9.69 ↓ -96%
United Commercial|HMO $10.34 ↓ -95%
United Commercial|PPO $10.34 ↓ -95%
Gold Coast Health Plan Medicaid|All Plans $10.77 ↓ -95%
Preferred IPA Medicaid|Risk $10.77 ↓ -95%
HCLA Medicaid|Preferred IPA > 21 $10.77 ↓ -95%
HCLA Medicaid|Preferred IPA < 21 $10.77 ↓ -95%
HCLA Commercial|Preferred IPA $10.77 ↓ -95%
Angeles IPA Medicare|All Plans $10.77 ↓ -95%
Inland Empire Health Plan Medicaid|All Plans $10.77 ↓ -95%
LA Care Commercial|All Plans $10.78 ↓ -95%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Exchange $12.35 ↓ -95%
HPN Commercial|All Plans $12.76 ↓ -94%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|All Plans $14.09 ↓ -94%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $14.20 ↓ -94%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $14.40 ↓ -94%
Health Net Medicaid|< 21 $14.60 ↓ -93%
Health Net Medicaid|> 21 $14.60 ↓ -93%
Molina Medicaid|< 21 $15.08 ↓ -93%
Molina Medicaid|> 21 $15.08 ↓ -93%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|Promise $15.43 ↓ -93%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $15.84 ↓ -93%
Kaiser Medicaid|> 21 $16.16 ↓ -93%
Kaiser Medicaid|< 21 $16.16 ↓ -93%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $16.26 ↓ -93%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $17.09 ↓ -92%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $17.09 ↓ -92%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $18.72 ↓ -92%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $20.57 ↓ -91%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $20.57 ↓ -91%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $20.57 ↓ -91%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $20.57 ↓ -91%
LA Care Medicaid|All Plans $26.44 ↓ -88%
Care 1st Medicaid|All Plans $53.85 ↓ -76%
Blue Shield CA Medicaid|All Plans $53.85 ↓ -76%

Visitor-reported prices

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Culture body fluid at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $281.20 $8.62 – $26.90
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $62.50 $1.72 – $17.46
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $382.50 $8.45 – $70.24
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $521.74 $8.62 – $22.20
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $129.21 $8.62 – $147.98
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $477.85 $5.56 – $26.10
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $223.72 $8.62 – $24.76
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $221.31 $8.62 – $24.76

All California hospitals for this procedure →