Blood, l/r, irradiated 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

$1,046.48

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.

$2,032.00

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.

$106.95 with Kaiser vs $14,950.00 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
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $106.95 ↓ -90%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $106.95 ↓ -90%
Scan Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $106.95 ↓ -90%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $106.95 ↓ -90%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $106.95 ↓ -90%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $106.95 ↓ -90%
LA Care Medicare|All Plans $106.95 ↓ -90%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $106.95 ↓ -90%
United Medicare|All Plans $106.95 ↓ -90%
Molina Medicaid|< 21 $147.13 ↓ -86%
Molina Medicaid|> 21 $147.13 ↓ -86%
Kaiser Medicaid|< 21 $147.13 ↓ -86%
Kaiser Medicaid|> 21 $147.13 ↓ -86%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|< 21 $147.13 ↓ -86%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|> 21 $147.13 ↓ -86%
Kern Health System Medicaid|< 21 $147.13 ↓ -86%
Kern Health System Medicaid|> 21 $147.13 ↓ -86%
California Health & Wellness Medicaid|< 21 $147.13 ↓ -86%
California Health & Wellness Medicaid|> 21 $147.13 ↓ -86%
Central California Alliance for Health Medicaid|All Plans $147.13 ↓ -86%
Health Plan of San Joaquin Medicaid|< 21 $147.13 ↓ -86%
Health Plan of San Joaquin Medicaid|> 21 $147.13 ↓ -86%
Inland Empire Health Plan Medicaid|< 21 $147.13 ↓ -86%
Inland Empire Health Plan Medicaid|> 21 $147.13 ↓ -86%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|< 21 $169.20 ↓ -84%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|> 21 $169.20 ↓ -84%
Allcare Commercial|All Plans $267.16 ↓ -74%
Health Net Medicaid|All Plans $317.80 ↓ -70%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $1,219.20 ↑ +17%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $1,320.80 ↑ +26%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $1,320.80 ↑ +26%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $1,402.08 ↑ +34%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Exchange $1,463.04 ↑ +40%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $1,625.60 ↑ +55%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $1,910.08 ↑ +83%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $1,930.40 ↑ +84%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $2,032.00 ↑ +94%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $2,032.00 ↑ +94%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $9,362.00 ↑ +795%
United Commercial|Options PPO $9,722.00 ↑ +829%
United Commercial|HMO $14,950.00 ↑ +1329%

Visitor-reported prices

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Blood, l/r, irradiated at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $786.52 $106.95 – $1,696.00
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $778.04 $106.95 – $1,674.80
St. Joseph's Medical Center Stockton Stockton $460.70 $101.51 – $1,284.94
St. Mary Medical Center Long Beach $630.81 $106.95 – $1,467.00
Community Hospital San Bernardino San Bernardino $943.88 $106.95 – $8,268.00
Glendale Memorial Hospital Health Center Glendale $752.74 $106.95 – $1,847.20
St. Bernardine Medical Center San Bernardino $694.64 $106.95 – $6,210.00
Providence Saint John's Health Center Santa Monica not published $84.55 – $321.14

All California hospitals for this procedure →