Albumin serum plasma or whole blood at Mercy Medical Center Merced

333 Mercy Ave., Merced, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1518018191

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

$21.63

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.

$42.00

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.

$2.06 with Blue Shield CA vs $7.07 with Aetna — 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 $2.06 ↓ -90%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|All Other Plans $2.76 ↓ -87%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $4.25 ↓ -80%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $4.60 ↓ -79%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $4.60 ↓ -79%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Exchange $4.81 ↓ -78%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $4.88 ↓ -77%
LA Care Medicare|All Plans $4.95 ↓ -77%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $4.95 ↓ -77%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $4.95 ↓ -77%
United Medicare|All Plans $4.95 ↓ -77%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $4.95 ↓ -77%
Scan Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $4.95 ↓ -77%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $4.95 ↓ -77%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $4.95 ↓ -77%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $4.95 ↓ -77%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $5.66 ↓ -74%
Inland Empire Health Plan Medicaid|> 21 $5.77 ↓ -73%
Molina Medicaid|< 21 $5.77 ↓ -73%
Molina Medicaid|> 21 $5.77 ↓ -73%
Kaiser Medicaid|< 21 $5.77 ↓ -73%
Kaiser Medicaid|> 21 $5.77 ↓ -73%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|< 21 $5.77 ↓ -73%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|> 21 $5.77 ↓ -73%
Kern Health System Medicaid|< 21 $5.77 ↓ -73%
Kern Health System Medicaid|> 21 $5.77 ↓ -73%
California Health & Wellness Medicaid|< 21 $5.77 ↓ -73%
California Health & Wellness Medicaid|> 21 $5.77 ↓ -73%
Central California Alliance for Health Medicaid|All Plans $5.77 ↓ -73%
Health Plan of San Joaquin Medicaid|< 21 $5.77 ↓ -73%
Health Plan of San Joaquin Medicaid|> 21 $5.77 ↓ -73%
Inland Empire Health Plan Medicaid|< 21 $5.77 ↓ -73%
United Commercial|Options PPO $5.94 ↓ -73%
United Commercial|HMO $5.94 ↓ -73%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $5.94 ↓ -73%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $5.94 ↓ -73%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|> 21 $6.12 ↓ -72%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|< 21 $6.12 ↓ -72%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $6.30 ↓ -71%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $6.65 ↓ -69%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $7.07 ↓ -67%
Health Net Medicaid|All Plans $7.07 ↓ -67%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $7.07 ↓ -67%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $7.07 ↓ -67%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $7.07 ↓ -67%

Visitor-reported prices

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Albumin serum plasma or whole blood at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $75.34 $2.03 – $13.14
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $24.41 $0.99 – $11.64
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $109.14 $4.85 – $40.45
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $86.46 $3.75 – $12.76
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $51.29 $4.95 – $11.76
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $79.19 $2.03 – $15.01
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $76.43 $3.54 – $14.24
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $75.61 $3.54 – $14.24

All California hospitals for this procedure →