Brach/thor cath 3rd at Mercy Medical Center Merced
333 Mercy Ave., Merced, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1518018191
$1,515.65
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.
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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
$2,943.00
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.
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The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$301.61 with Inland Empire Health Plan vs $15,399.00 with BCBS - Anthem — 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 →
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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 ?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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inland Empire Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $301.61 | ↓ -80% |
| Molina | Medicaid|< 21 | $301.61 | ↓ -80% |
| Molina | Medicaid|> 21 | $301.61 | ↓ -80% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|< 21 | $301.61 | ↓ -80% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|> 21 | $301.61 | ↓ -80% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $301.61 | ↓ -80% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $301.61 | ↓ -80% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|< 21 | $301.61 | ↓ -80% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|> 21 | $301.61 | ↓ -80% |
| California Health & Wellness | Medicaid|< 21 | $301.61 | ↓ -80% |
| California Health & Wellness | Medicaid|> 21 | $301.61 | ↓ -80% |
| Health Plan of San Joaquin | Medicaid|< 21 | $301.61 | ↓ -80% |
| Health Plan of San Joaquin | Medicaid|> 21 | $301.61 | ↓ -80% |
| Inland Empire Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $301.61 | ↓ -80% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|< 21 | $433.57 | ↓ -71% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|> 21 | $433.57 | ↓ -71% |
| Central California Alliance for Health | Medicaid|All Plans | $475.46 | ↓ -69% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|All Plans | $1,026.99 | ↓ -32% |
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $1,471.50 | ↓ -3% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $1,765.80 | ↑ +17% |
| Cigna | Commercial|PPO | $1,912.95 | ↑ +26% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $1,912.95 | ↑ +26% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $2,030.67 | ↑ +34% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $2,354.40 | ↑ +55% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $2,766.42 | ↑ +83% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $2,913.57 | ↑ +92% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $2,943.00 | ↑ +94% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $2,943.00 | ↑ +94% |
| United | Commercial|Options PPO | $2,943.00 | ↑ +94% |
| Aetna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $7,112.00 | ↑ +369% |
| Aetna | Commercial|PPO | $7,112.00 | ↑ +369% |
| Aetna | Commercial|HMO | $7,112.00 | ↑ +369% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Exchange | $7,407.00 | ↑ +389% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|All Other Plans | $9,746.00 | ↑ +543% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $15,399.00 | ↑ +916% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Brach/thor cath 3rd at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $1,047.70 | $370.98 – $1,865.76 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $1,151.75 | $301.61 – $996.66 |
| French Hospital | San Luis Obispo | $1,072.91 | $274.59 – $996.66 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $1,234.32 | $301.61 – $2,961.03 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $1,279.37 | $301.61 – $3,451.14 |
| Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka | Eureka | $333.54 | $2,699.00 – $26,648.00 |
| St. Joseph's Medical Center Stockton | Stockton | $3,555.35 | $301.61 – $10,158.12 |
| Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital | Santa Rosa | $1,425.45 | $1,716.00 – $5,318.00 |