Fetal hemoglobin rosette 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

$80.86

Cash price

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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.

$157.00

Gross charge

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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.

$5.98 with Partnership Health Plan vs $157.00 with BCBS - Anthem — 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 →

Payer
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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
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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
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|< 21 $5.98 ↓ -93%
Health Plan of San Joaquin Medicaid|> 21 $5.98 ↓ -93%
Kaiser Medicaid|> 21 $5.98 ↓ -93%
Kaiser Medicaid|< 21 $5.98 ↓ -93%
Health Plan of San Joaquin Medicaid|< 21 $5.98 ↓ -93%
Inland Empire Health Plan Medicaid|> 21 $5.98 ↓ -93%
Central California Alliance for Health Medicaid|All Plans $5.98 ↓ -93%
California Health & Wellness Medicaid|> 21 $5.98 ↓ -93%
Molina Medicaid|< 21 $5.98 ↓ -93%
Molina Medicaid|> 21 $5.98 ↓ -93%
California Health & Wellness Medicaid|< 21 $5.98 ↓ -93%
Inland Empire Health Plan Medicaid|< 21 $5.98 ↓ -93%
Kern Health System Medicaid|> 21 $5.98 ↓ -93%
Kern Health System Medicaid|< 21 $5.98 ↓ -93%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|> 21 $5.98 ↓ -93%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $9.36 ↓ -88%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $9.36 ↓ -88%
United Medicare|All Plans $9.36 ↓ -88%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $9.36 ↓ -88%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $9.36 ↓ -88%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $9.36 ↓ -88%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $9.36 ↓ -88%
Scan Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $9.36 ↓ -88%
LA Care Medicare|All Plans $9.36 ↓ -88%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|< 21 $9.82 ↓ -88%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|> 21 $9.82 ↓ -88%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $11.23 ↓ -86%
United Commercial|Options PPO $11.23 ↓ -86%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $11.23 ↓ -86%
United Commercial|HMO $11.23 ↓ -86%
Health Net Medicaid|All Plans $12.92 ↓ -84%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $40.62 ↓ -50%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $40.62 ↓ -50%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $40.62 ↓ -50%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $45.53 ↓ -44%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|All Other Plans $61.23 ↓ -24%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $94.20 ↑ +16%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $102.05 ↑ +26%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $102.05 ↑ +26%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Exchange $106.76 ↑ +32%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $108.33 ↑ +34%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $125.60 ↑ +55%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $139.73 ↑ +73%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $147.58 ↑ +83%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $157.00 ↑ +94%

Visitor-reported prices

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Fetal hemoglobin rosette at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $86.70 $9.17 – $124.86
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $86.89 $5.98 – $28.42
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $63.94 $5.98 – $94.08
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $79.58 $5.98 – $28.42
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $54.91 $5.86 – $39.20
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $54.32 $5.86 – $38.71
Queen of The Valley Medical Center Napa $89.25 $9.36 – $157.79
Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka Eureka $90.27 $9.36 – $178.94

All California hospitals for this procedure →