Arthrocentesis/aspiration/injection major joint/bursa w/ultrasound guidance (both sides) at Mercy Medical Center Merced
333 Mercy Ave., Merced, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1518018191
$500.07
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.
?
What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
$971.00
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.
?
The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$60.67 with Partnership Health Plan vs $15,399.00 with BCBS - Anthem — same scan, same building. Share
Negotiated rates by payer
?
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 →
?
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $60.67 | ↓ -88% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $60.67 | ↓ -88% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|> 21 | $60.67 | ↓ -88% |
| Health Plan of San Joaquin | Medicaid|< 21 | $60.67 | ↓ -88% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|< 21 | $60.67 | ↓ -88% |
| Inland Empire Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $60.67 | ↓ -88% |
| Health Plan of San Joaquin | Medicaid|> 21 | $60.67 | ↓ -88% |
| California Health & Wellness | Medicaid|> 21 | $60.67 | ↓ -88% |
| Molina | Medicaid|< 21 | $60.67 | ↓ -88% |
| Molina | Medicaid|> 21 | $60.67 | ↓ -88% |
| California Health & Wellness | Medicaid|< 21 | $60.67 | ↓ -88% |
| Inland Empire Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $60.67 | ↓ -88% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|> 21 | $60.67 | ↓ -88% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|< 21 | $60.67 | ↓ -88% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|> 21 | $60.80 | ↓ -88% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|< 21 | $60.80 | ↓ -88% |
| Central California Alliance for Health | Medicaid|All Plans | $66.67 | ↓ -87% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|All Plans | $144.01 | ↓ -71% |
| Allcare | Commercial|All Plans | $343.94 | ↓ -31% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $375.07 | ↓ -25% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $375.07 | ↓ -25% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $375.07 | ↓ -25% |
| Health Net | Medicare|All Plans | $375.07 | ↓ -25% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $375.07 | ↓ -25% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Plans | $375.07 | ↓ -25% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Plans | $375.07 | ↓ -25% |
| Scan Health Plan | Medicare|All Plans | $375.07 | ↓ -25% |
| LA Care | Medicare|All Plans | $375.07 | ↓ -25% |
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $485.50 | ↓ -3% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $582.60 | ↑ +17% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $631.15 | ↑ +26% |
| Cigna | Commercial|PPO | $631.15 | ↑ +26% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $669.99 | ↑ +34% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $776.80 | ↑ +55% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $912.74 | ↑ +83% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $961.29 | ↑ +92% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $971.00 | ↑ +94% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $971.00 | ↑ +94% |
| United | Commercial|Options PPO | $971.00 | ↑ +94% |
| Aetna | Commercial|PPO | $5,322.00 | ↑ +964% |
| Aetna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $5,322.00 | ↑ +964% |
| Aetna | Commercial|HMO | $5,322.00 | ↑ +964% |
| Health Net | Commercial|Care Product | $6,629.00 | ↑ +1226% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Exchange | $7,407.00 | ↑ +1381% |
| Health Net | Commercial|FFS | $7,546.00 | ↑ +1409% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|All Other Plans | $9,746.00 | ↑ +1849% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $15,399.00 | ↑ +2979% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Arthrocentesis/aspiration/injection major joint/bursa w/ultrasound guidance (both sides) at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $610.88 | $74.62 – $761.28 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $1,340.16 | $87.24 – $1,241.60 |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital | Petaluma | $2,254.71 | $413.65 – $1,687.00 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $1,555.78 | $60.67 – $3,229.10 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $536.13 | $41.91 – $158.76 |
| French Hospital | San Luis Obispo | $1,291.64 | $60.67 – $876.12 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $323.15 | $60.67 – $696.80 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $319.66 | $60.67 – $688.09 |