Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) CT scan (with contrast) 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

$4,460.55

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.

$9,197.00

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.

$210.53 with Noble IPA vs $7,265.63 with MultiPlan — 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
Noble IPA Medicaid|> 21 $210.53 ↓ -95%
Noble IPA Medicaid|< 21 $210.53 ↓ -95%
Gold Coast Health Plan Medicaid|All Plans $233.92 ↓ -95%
Angeles IPA Medicare|All Plans $233.92 ↓ -95%
Inland Empire Health Plan Medicaid|All Plans $233.92 ↓ -95%
HCLA Medicaid|Preferred IPA > 21 $233.92 ↓ -95%
Preferred IPA Medicaid|Risk $233.92 ↓ -95%
HCLA Medicaid|Preferred IPA < 21 $233.92 ↓ -95%
Health Net Medicaid|> 21 $317.20 ↓ -93%
Health Net Medicaid|< 21 $317.20 ↓ -93%
Molina Medicaid|< 21 $327.49 ↓ -93%
Molina Medicaid|> 21 $327.49 ↓ -93%
Kaiser Medicaid|> 21 $350.88 ↓ -92%
Kaiser Medicaid|< 21 $350.88 ↓ -92%
Scan Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -90%
Preferred IPA Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -90%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -90%
HCLA Medicare|Preferred IPA $453.77 ↓ -90%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -90%
United Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -90%
Health Net Medicare|All Other Plans $453.77 ↓ -90%
Health Net Medicare|Senior $453.77 ↓ -90%
GlobalCare Commercial|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -90%
EasyChoice Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -90%
Central Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -90%
LA Care Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -90%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Other Plans $453.77 ↓ -90%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -90%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|All Plans $454.58 ↓ -90%
Noble IPA Medicare|All Plans $476.46 ↓ -89%
HPN Medicare|Senior $499.15 ↓ -89%
Central California Alliance for Health Medicaid|All Plans $505.50 ↓ -89%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Exchange $535.00 ↓ -88%
LA Care Commercial|All Plans $567.21 ↓ -87%
HCLA Commercial|Preferred IPA $567.21 ↓ -87%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|Promise $596.00 ↓ -87%
Healthcare Partners Medicare|All Plans $656.00 ↓ -85%
Healthcare Partners Commercial|All Plans $743.00 ↓ -83%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $811.00 ↓ -82%
LA Care Medicaid|All Plans $823.40 ↓ -82%
United Commercial|HMO $828.27 ↓ -81%
United Commercial|PPO $828.27 ↓ -81%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $998.00 ↓ -78%
Care 1st Medicaid|All Plans $1,169.60 ↓ -74%
Blue Shield CA Medicaid|All Plans $1,169.60 ↓ -74%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $1,504.75 ↓ -66%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $1,504.75 ↓ -66%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $1,504.75 ↓ -66%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $1,570.00 ↓ -65%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $1,570.00 ↓ -65%
DHR Medicaid|< 21 $2,299.25 ↓ -48%
DHR Medicaid|> 21 $2,299.25 ↓ -48%
HPN Commercial|All Plans $5,702.14 ↑ +28%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $6,345.93 ↑ +42%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $6,437.90 ↑ +44%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $7,081.69 ↑ +59%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $7,265.63 ↑ +63%

Visitor-reported prices

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Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) CT scan (with contrast) at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $1,543.52 $353.90 – $2,748.72
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $1,746.26 $71.43 – $2,976.93
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $6,076.14 $470.15 – $1,637.00
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $3,402.18 $233.92 – $5,917.24
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $5,641.02 $233.92 – $1,778.70
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $2,726.36 $233.92 – $1,768.00
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $3,536.75 $233.92 – $7,626.40
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $3,498.62 $233.92 – $7,531.07

All California hospitals for this procedure →