ER Visit (level 4) at Mercy Medical Center Merced
333 Mercy Ave., Merced, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1518018191
$3,113.69
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.
$6,046.00
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.
$98.04 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 | $98.04 | ↓ -97% |
| Inland Empire Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $98.04 | ↓ -97% |
| Inland Empire Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $98.04 | ↓ -97% |
| Health Plan of San Joaquin | Medicaid|> 21 | $98.04 | ↓ -97% |
| Health Plan of San Joaquin | Medicaid|< 21 | $98.04 | ↓ -97% |
| Central California Alliance for Health | Medicaid|All Plans | $98.04 | ↓ -97% |
| California Health & Wellness | Medicaid|> 21 | $98.04 | ↓ -97% |
| California Health & Wellness | Medicaid|< 21 | $98.04 | ↓ -97% |
| Molina | Medicaid|< 21 | $98.04 | ↓ -97% |
| Molina | Medicaid|> 21 | $98.04 | ↓ -97% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|> 21 | $98.04 | ↓ -97% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|< 21 | $98.04 | ↓ -97% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $98.04 | ↓ -97% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $98.04 | ↓ -97% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|> 21 | $98.04 | ↓ -97% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|< 21 | $112.75 | ↓ -96% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|> 21 | $112.75 | ↓ -96% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|All Plans | $211.77 | ↓ -93% |
| Allcare | Commercial|All Plans | $462.22 | ↓ -85% |
| Health Net | Medicare|All Plans | $541.05 | ↓ -83% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $541.05 | ↓ -83% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Plans | $541.05 | ↓ -83% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $541.05 | ↓ -83% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Plans | $541.05 | ↓ -83% |
| Scan Health Plan | Medicare|All Plans | $541.05 | ↓ -83% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $541.05 | ↓ -83% |
| LA Care | Medicare|All Plans | $541.05 | ↓ -83% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $541.05 | ↓ -83% |
| Blue Shield CA | Commercial|Exchange | $3,627.60 | ↑ +17% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $3,627.60 | ↑ +17% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $3,869.44 | ↑ +24% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $3,929.90 | ↑ +26% |
| Cigna | Commercial|PPO | $3,929.90 | ↑ +26% |
| Aetna | Commercial|PPO | $3,990.36 | ↑ +28% |
| Aetna | Commercial|HMO | $3,990.36 | ↑ +28% |
| Aetna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $3,990.36 | ↑ +28% |
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $4,232.20 | ↑ +36% |
| Blue Shield CA | Commercial|All Other Plans | $4,292.66 | ↑ +38% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $4,836.80 | ↑ +55% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $5,683.24 | ↑ +83% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Exchange | $7,486.00 | ↑ +140% |
| Health Net | Commercial|Care Product | $9,589.00 | ↑ +208% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|All Other Plans | $9,850.00 | ↑ +216% |
| Health Net | Commercial|FFS | $10,917.00 | ↑ +251% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $13,294.00 | ↑ +327% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $15,563.00 | ↑ +400% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $16,739.00 | ↑ +438% |
| United | Commercial|Options PPO | $17,252.00 | ↑ +454% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $25,609.00 | ↑ +722% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
ER Visit (level 4) at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $1,112.96 | $148.33 – $1,735.94 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $2,826.36 | $85.16 – $1,742.12 |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital | Petaluma | $3,274.71 | $562.31 – $573.78 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $1,131.21 | $98.04 – $2,255.96 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $1,310.03 | $92.10 – $348.88 |
| French Hospital | San Luis Obispo | $992.55 | $98.04 – $2,299.08 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $1,184.98 | $98.04 – $2,619.08 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $1,172.20 | $98.04 – $2,619.08 |