Observation per hour 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

$223.10

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.

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

$460.00

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.

$35.50 with DHR vs $11,950.00 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 →

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 $35.50 ↓ -84%
DHR Medicaid|< 21 $35.50 ↓ -84%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $64.00 ↓ -71%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Exchange $83.78 ↓ -62%
HPN Commercial|All Plans $88.04 ↓ -61%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $97.98 ↓ -56%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $99.40 ↓ -55%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|Promise $106.50 ↓ -52%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $109.34 ↓ -51%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $112.18 ↓ -50%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Other Plans $113.00 ↓ -49%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $113.60 ↓ -49%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $113.60 ↓ -49%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $127.80 ↓ -43%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $142.00 ↓ -36%
LA Care Medicaid|All Plans $1,424.00 ↑ +538%
Molina Medicaid|> 21 $1,428.00 ↑ +540%
Molina Medicaid|< 21 $1,428.00 ↑ +540%
United Commercial|PPO $8,282.00 ↑ +3612%
United Commercial|HMO $11,950.00 ↑ +5256%

Visitor-reported prices

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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

All California hospitals for this procedure →