Bronchial challenge at Mercy Medical Center Merced
333 Mercy Ave., Merced, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1518018191
$642.21
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.
$1,247.00
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.
$332.55 with Allcare vs $1,247.00 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 →
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allcare | Commercial|All Plans | $332.55 | ↓ -48% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $395.66 | ↓ -38% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $395.66 | ↓ -38% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $395.66 | ↓ -38% |
| Health Net | Medicare|All Plans | $395.66 | ↓ -38% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $395.66 | ↓ -38% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Plans | $395.66 | ↓ -38% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Plans | $395.66 | ↓ -38% |
| Scan Health Plan | Medicare|All Plans | $395.66 | ↓ -38% |
| LA Care | Medicare|All Plans | $395.66 | ↓ -38% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Exchange | $547.09 | ↓ -15% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|All Other Plans | $719.81 | ↑ +12% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $748.20 | ↑ +17% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $810.55 | ↑ +26% |
| Cigna | Commercial|PPO | $810.55 | ↑ +26% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $860.43 | ↑ +34% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $997.60 | ↑ +55% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $1,137.55 | ↑ +77% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $1,172.18 | ↑ +83% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $1,234.53 | ↑ +92% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $1,247.00 | ↑ +94% |
| United | Commercial|Options PPO | $1,247.00 | ↑ +94% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $1,247.00 | ↑ +94% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Bronchial challenge at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $380.26 | $62.28 – $678.03 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $1,361.90 | $395.66 – $3,118.36 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $994.34 | $314.07 – $1,189.72 |
| French Hospital | San Luis Obispo | $1,311.24 | $395.66 – $3,278.10 |
| Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka | Eureka | $970.02 | $479.94 – $599.28 |
| St. Joseph's Medical Center Stockton | Stockton | $441.59 | $315.42 – $1,261.68 |
| Mercy Medical Center Mt. Shasta | Mt Shasta | $697.09 | $215.04 – $878.08 |
| Northridge Hospital Medical Center | Northridge | $607.67 | $395.66 – $2,178.00 |