Compatibility test incubate at Mercy Medical Center Merced
333 Mercy Ave., Merced, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1518018191
$84.98
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.
$165.00
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.
$47.85 with Blue Shield CA vs $217.73 with Blue Shield CA — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Shield CA | Commercial|Exchange | $47.85 | ↓ -44% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|< 21 | $57.58 | ↓ -32% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|> 21 | $57.58 | ↓ -32% |
| Blue Shield CA | Commercial|All Other Plans | $64.35 | ↓ -24% |
| Aetna | Commercial|PPO | $98.79 | ↑ +16% |
| Aetna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $98.79 | ↑ +16% |
| Aetna | Commercial|HMO | $98.79 | ↑ +16% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $99.00 | ↑ +16% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $107.25 | ↑ +26% |
| Cigna | Commercial|PPO | $107.25 | ↑ +26% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Exchange | $112.20 | ↑ +32% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $113.85 | ↑ +34% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $132.00 | ↑ +55% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|All Other Plans | $146.85 | ↑ +73% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $155.10 | ↑ +83% |
| LA Care | Medicare|All Plans | $165.00 | ↑ +94% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $165.00 | ↑ +94% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $165.00 | ↑ +94% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $165.00 | ↑ +94% |
| United | Commercial|Options PPO | $165.00 | ↑ +94% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $165.00 | ↑ +94% |
| Health Net | Medicare|All Plans | $165.00 | ↑ +94% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $165.00 | ↑ +94% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Plans | $165.00 | ↑ +94% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $165.00 | ↑ +94% |
| Scan Health Plan | Medicare|All Plans | $165.00 | ↑ +94% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $165.00 | ↑ +94% |
| Allcare | Commercial|All Plans | $181.50 | ↑ +114% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $217.73 | ↑ +156% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Plans | $217.73 | ↑ +156% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Compatibility test incubate at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $15.33 | $9.45 – $84.46 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $63.45 | $83.00 – $166.00 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $62.76 | $66.09 – $166.00 |
| St. Joseph's Behavioral Health Center | Stockton | $86.80 | $15.20 – $121.60 |
| St. Joseph's Medical Center Stockton | Stockton | $44.99 | $32.13 – $153.00 |
| Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center | Tarzana | $155.40 | $1.60 – $405.38 |
| St. Mary Medical Center | Long Beach | $93.74 | $50.07 – $348.37 |
| Community Hospital San Bernardino | San Bernardino | $87.98 | $37.09 – $424.57 |