Cholesterol 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

$28.84

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.

Full explanation →

What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$56.00

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.

Full explanation →

The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$2.03 with Blue Shield CA vs $7.00 with Aetna — 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 →

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
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $2.03 ↓ -93%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|All Other Plans $2.73 ↓ -91%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $4.20 ↓ -85%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $4.35 ↓ -85%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $4.35 ↓ -85%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $4.35 ↓ -85%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $4.35 ↓ -85%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $4.35 ↓ -85%
United Medicare|All Plans $4.35 ↓ -85%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $4.35 ↓ -85%
LA Care Medicare|All Plans $4.35 ↓ -85%
Scan Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $4.35 ↓ -85%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $4.55 ↓ -84%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $4.55 ↓ -84%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|< 21 $4.63 ↓ -84%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|> 21 $4.63 ↓ -84%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Exchange $4.76 ↓ -83%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $4.83 ↓ -83%
United Commercial|Options PPO $5.22 ↓ -82%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $5.22 ↓ -82%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $5.22 ↓ -82%
United Commercial|HMO $5.22 ↓ -82%
Molina Medicaid|> 21 $5.55 ↓ -81%
Molina Medicaid|< 21 $5.55 ↓ -81%
Inland Empire Health Plan Medicaid|> 21 $5.55 ↓ -81%
California Health & Wellness Medicaid|> 21 $5.55 ↓ -81%
Health Plan of San Joaquin Medicaid|< 21 $5.55 ↓ -81%
Health Plan of San Joaquin Medicaid|> 21 $5.55 ↓ -81%
Inland Empire Health Plan Medicaid|< 21 $5.55 ↓ -81%
Kaiser Medicaid|< 21 $5.55 ↓ -81%
Kaiser Medicaid|> 21 $5.55 ↓ -81%
Kern Health System Medicaid|> 21 $5.55 ↓ -81%
California Health & Wellness Medicaid|< 21 $5.55 ↓ -81%
Central California Alliance for Health Medicaid|All Plans $5.55 ↓ -81%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|< 21 $5.55 ↓ -81%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|> 21 $5.55 ↓ -81%
Kern Health System Medicaid|< 21 $5.55 ↓ -81%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $5.60 ↓ -81%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $6.23 ↓ -78%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $6.58 ↓ -77%
Health Net Medicaid|All Plans $7.00 ↓ -76%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $7.00 ↓ -76%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $7.00 ↓ -76%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $7.00 ↓ -76%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $7.00 ↓ -76%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Cholesterol at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $118.70 $4.35 – $211.38
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $34.43 $0.87 – $6.39
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $139.23 $4.26 – $35.50
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $109.57 $4.35 – $11.76
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $70.60 $4.35 – $103.88
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $100.36 $3.24 – $13.19
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $73.46 $3.50 – $12.51
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $72.67 $3.50 – $12.51

All California hospitals for this procedure →