Cerebrospinal fld flw imag 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

$3,097.21

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.

$6,014.00

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.

$214.24 with Health Plan of San Joaquin vs $1,248.00 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 →

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
Health Plan of San Joaquin Medicaid|> 21 $214.24 ↓ -93%
Health Plan of San Joaquin Medicaid|< 21 $214.24 ↓ -93%
Kaiser Medicaid|< 21 $214.24 ↓ -93%
Kaiser Medicaid|> 21 $214.24 ↓ -93%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|< 21 $214.24 ↓ -93%
Inland Empire Health Plan Medicaid|> 21 $214.24 ↓ -93%
Central California Alliance for Health Medicaid|All Plans $214.24 ↓ -93%
California Health & Wellness Medicaid|> 21 $214.24 ↓ -93%
Molina Medicaid|< 21 $214.24 ↓ -93%
Molina Medicaid|> 21 $214.24 ↓ -93%
California Health & Wellness Medicaid|< 21 $214.24 ↓ -93%
Inland Empire Health Plan Medicaid|< 21 $214.24 ↓ -93%
Kern Health System Medicaid|> 21 $214.24 ↓ -93%
Kern Health System Medicaid|< 21 $214.24 ↓ -93%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|> 21 $214.24 ↓ -93%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|> 21 $246.38 ↓ -92%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|< 21 $246.38 ↓ -92%
Health Net Medicaid|All Plans $462.76 ↓ -85%
Allcare Commercial|All Plans $620.14 ↓ -80%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $683.93 ↓ -78%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $683.93 ↓ -78%
United Medicare|All Plans $683.93 ↓ -78%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $683.93 ↓ -78%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $683.93 ↓ -78%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $683.93 ↓ -78%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $683.93 ↓ -78%
Scan Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $683.93 ↓ -78%
LA Care Medicare|All Plans $683.93 ↓ -78%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $798.72 ↓ -74%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $811.20 ↓ -74%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $811.20 ↓ -74%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Exchange $848.64 ↓ -73%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $861.12 ↓ -72%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $998.40 ↓ -68%
United Commercial|Options PPO $1,101.15 ↓ -64%
United Commercial|HMO $1,101.15 ↓ -64%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $1,101.15 ↓ -64%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $1,101.15 ↓ -64%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $1,110.72 ↓ -64%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $1,173.12 ↓ -62%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $1,248.00 ↓ -60%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $1,248.00 ↓ -60%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $1,248.00 ↓ -60%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $1,248.00 ↓ -60%

Visitor-reported prices

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Cerebrospinal fld flw imag at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $901.85 $324.13 – $2,368.99
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $917.93 $107.65 – $1,326.96
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $1,536.10 $214.24 – $3,349.64
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $5,602.40 $214.24 – $3,883.74
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $1,226.18 $214.24 – $2,704.43
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $663.35 $214.24 – $2,565.73
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $656.20 $214.24 – $2,565.73
St. Joseph's Medical Center Stockton Stockton $4,564.35 $214.24 – $6,365.66

All California hospitals for this procedure →