ER Visit (level 3) at Mercy Medical Center Merced
333 Mercy Ave., Merced, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1518018191
$1,971.94
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.
$3,829.00
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.
$63.97 with Kaiser vs $25,609.00 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaiser | Medicaid|< 21 | $63.97 | ↓ -97% |
| Inland Empire Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $63.97 | ↓ -97% |
| Inland Empire Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $63.97 | ↓ -97% |
| Health Plan of San Joaquin | Medicaid|> 21 | $63.97 | ↓ -97% |
| Health Plan of San Joaquin | Medicaid|< 21 | $63.97 | ↓ -97% |
| Central California Alliance for Health | Medicaid|All Plans | $63.97 | ↓ -97% |
| California Health & Wellness | Medicaid|> 21 | $63.97 | ↓ -97% |
| California Health & Wellness | Medicaid|< 21 | $63.97 | ↓ -97% |
| Molina | Medicaid|< 21 | $63.97 | ↓ -97% |
| Molina | Medicaid|> 21 | $63.97 | ↓ -97% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|> 21 | $63.97 | ↓ -97% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|< 21 | $63.97 | ↓ -97% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $63.97 | ↓ -97% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $63.97 | ↓ -97% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|> 21 | $63.97 | ↓ -97% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|< 21 | $73.57 | ↓ -96% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|> 21 | $73.57 | ↓ -96% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|All Plans | $138.18 | ↓ -93% |
| Allcare | Commercial|All Plans | $293.45 | ↓ -85% |
| Health Net | Medicare|All Plans | $351.82 | ↓ -82% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $351.82 | ↓ -82% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Plans | $351.82 | ↓ -82% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $351.82 | ↓ -82% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Plans | $351.82 | ↓ -82% |
| Scan Health Plan | Medicare|All Plans | $351.82 | ↓ -82% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $351.82 | ↓ -82% |
| LA Care | Medicare|All Plans | $351.82 | ↓ -82% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $351.82 | ↓ -82% |
| Blue Shield CA | Commercial|Exchange | $2,297.40 | ↑ +17% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $2,297.40 | ↑ +17% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $2,450.56 | ↑ +24% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $2,488.85 | ↑ +26% |
| Cigna | Commercial|PPO | $2,488.85 | ↑ +26% |
| Aetna | Commercial|PPO | $2,527.14 | ↑ +28% |
| Aetna | Commercial|HMO | $2,527.14 | ↑ +28% |
| Aetna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $2,527.14 | ↑ +28% |
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $2,680.30 | ↑ +36% |
| Blue Shield CA | Commercial|All Other Plans | $2,718.59 | ↑ +38% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $3,063.20 | ↑ +55% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $3,599.26 | ↑ +83% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Exchange | $3,744.00 | ↑ +90% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|All Other Plans | $4,926.00 | ↑ +150% |
| Health Net | Commercial|Care Product | $4,986.00 | ↑ +153% |
| Health Net | Commercial|FFS | $5,677.00 | ↑ +188% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $7,783.00 | ↑ +295% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $13,294.00 | ↑ +574% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $16,739.00 | ↑ +749% |
| United | Commercial|Options PPO | $17,252.00 | ↑ +775% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $25,609.00 | ↑ +1199% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
ER Visit (level 3) at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $762.56 | $81.27 – $1,196.38 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $1,059.08 | $55.38 – $1,065.06 |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital | Petaluma | $1,925.25 | $367.87 – $375.37 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $828.61 | $63.97 – $1,736.56 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $746.59 | $46.83 – $177.38 |
| French Hospital | San Luis Obispo | $758.92 | $63.97 – $1,897.28 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $731.25 | $63.97 – $1,616.22 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $723.36 | $63.97 – $1,616.22 |