Contrast x-ray of brain at Mercy Medical Center Merced
333 Mercy Ave., Merced, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1518018191
$772.50
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.
$1,500.00
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.
$102.36 with BCBS - Anthem vs $1,003.85 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|< 21 | $102.36 | ↓ -87% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|> 21 | $102.36 | ↓ -87% |
| Inland Empire Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $127.68 | ↓ -83% |
| Inland Empire Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $127.68 | ↓ -83% |
| Health Plan of San Joaquin | Medicaid|> 21 | $127.68 | ↓ -83% |
| Health Plan of San Joaquin | Medicaid|< 21 | $127.68 | ↓ -83% |
| Central California Alliance for Health | Medicaid|All Plans | $127.68 | ↓ -83% |
| California Health & Wellness | Medicaid|> 21 | $127.68 | ↓ -83% |
| Molina | Medicaid|< 21 | $127.68 | ↓ -83% |
| Molina | Medicaid|> 21 | $127.68 | ↓ -83% |
| California Health & Wellness | Medicaid|< 21 | $127.68 | ↓ -83% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|> 21 | $127.68 | ↓ -83% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|< 21 | $127.68 | ↓ -83% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $127.68 | ↓ -83% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $127.68 | ↓ -83% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|> 21 | $127.68 | ↓ -83% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|< 21 | $127.68 | ↓ -83% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|All Plans | $275.79 | ↓ -64% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Exchange | $415.51 | ↓ -46% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $440.32 | ↓ -43% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $447.20 | ↓ -42% |
| Cigna | Commercial|PPO | $447.20 | ↓ -42% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $474.72 | ↓ -39% |
| Aetna | Commercial|PPO | $517.78 | ↓ -33% |
| Aetna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $517.78 | ↓ -33% |
| Aetna | Commercial|HMO | $517.78 | ↓ -33% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|All Other Plans | $546.69 | ↓ -29% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $550.40 | ↓ -29% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $646.72 | ↓ -16% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $688.00 | ↓ -11% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $688.00 | ↓ -11% |
| LA Care | Medicare|All Plans | $688.00 | ↓ -11% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $688.00 | ↓ -11% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $688.00 | ↓ -11% |
| Scan Health Plan | Medicare|All Plans | $688.00 | ↓ -11% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Plans | $688.00 | ↓ -11% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $688.00 | ↓ -11% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $688.00 | ↓ -11% |
| Health Net | Medicare|All Plans | $688.00 | ↓ -11% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $688.00 | ↓ -11% |
| United | Commercial|Options PPO | $688.00 | ↓ -11% |
| Allcare | Commercial|All Plans | $756.80 | ↓ -2% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $1,003.85 | ↑ +30% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Plans | $1,003.85 | ↑ +30% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Contrast x-ray of brain at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $1,464.54 | $127.68 – $639.94 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $1,362.69 | $127.68 – $3,751.09 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $1,348.00 | $117.49 – $3,751.09 |
| St. Joseph's Medical Center Stockton | Stockton | $1,409.44 | $127.68 – $1,036.00 |
| Northridge Hospital Medical Center | Northridge | $538.75 | $118.38 – $2,379.96 |
| St Jude Medical Center | Fullerton | $1,833.60 | $481.18 – $1,865.27 |
| Providence St Joseph Hospital Orange | Orange | $956.16 | $470.88 – $1,865.27 |
| Providence Saint John's Health Center | Santa Monica | $773.50 | $222.16 – $3,834.71 |