Injection into brain canal at Mercy Medical Center Merced
333 Mercy Ave., Merced, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1518018191
$1,458.48
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.
$2,832.00
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.
$162.34 with Partnership Health Plan vs $8,557.00 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 →
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $162.34 | ↓ -89% |
| Health Plan of San Joaquin | Medicaid|> 21 | $162.34 | ↓ -89% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|> 21 | $162.34 | ↓ -89% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|< 21 | $162.34 | ↓ -89% |
| Health Plan of San Joaquin | Medicaid|< 21 | $162.34 | ↓ -89% |
| Inland Empire Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $162.34 | ↓ -89% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $162.34 | ↓ -89% |
| California Health & Wellness | Medicaid|> 21 | $162.34 | ↓ -89% |
| Molina | Medicaid|< 21 | $162.34 | ↓ -89% |
| Molina | Medicaid|> 21 | $162.34 | ↓ -89% |
| California Health & Wellness | Medicaid|< 21 | $162.34 | ↓ -89% |
| Inland Empire Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $162.34 | ↓ -89% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|> 21 | $162.34 | ↓ -89% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|< 21 | $162.34 | ↓ -89% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|> 21 | $233.36 | ↓ -84% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|< 21 | $233.36 | ↓ -84% |
| Central California Alliance for Health | Medicaid|All Plans | $255.91 | ↓ -82% |
| Allcare | Commercial|All Plans | $343.94 | ↓ -76% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $375.07 | ↓ -74% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $375.07 | ↓ -74% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $375.07 | ↓ -74% |
| Health Net | Medicare|All Plans | $375.07 | ↓ -74% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $375.07 | ↓ -74% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Plans | $375.07 | ↓ -74% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Plans | $375.07 | ↓ -74% |
| Scan Health Plan | Medicare|All Plans | $375.07 | ↓ -74% |
| LA Care | Medicare|All Plans | $375.07 | ↓ -74% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|All Plans | $552.77 | ↓ -62% |
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $609.50 | ↓ -58% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $780.16 | ↓ -47% |
| Cigna | Commercial|PPO | $792.35 | ↓ -46% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $792.35 | ↓ -46% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $841.11 | ↓ -42% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $975.20 | ↓ -33% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $1,145.86 | ↓ -21% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $1,206.81 | ↓ -17% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $1,219.00 | ↓ -16% |
| United | Commercial|Options PPO | $1,219.00 | ↓ -16% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $1,219.00 | ↓ -16% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Exchange | $4,116.00 | ↑ +182% |
| Aetna | Commercial|PPO | $5,322.00 | ↑ +265% |
| Aetna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $5,322.00 | ↑ +265% |
| Aetna | Commercial|HMO | $5,322.00 | ↑ +265% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|All Other Plans | $5,416.00 | ↑ +271% |
| Health Net | Commercial|Care Product | $6,629.00 | ↑ +355% |
| Health Net | Commercial|FFS | $7,546.00 | ↑ +417% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $8,557.00 | ↑ +487% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Injection into brain canal at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $1,032.87 | $162.34 – $2,136.80 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $1,021.73 | $162.34 – $2,199.36 |
| Queen of The Valley Medical Center | Napa | $447.78 | $435.83 – $6,200.00 |
| St. Joseph's Medical Center Stockton | Stockton | $747.06 | $162.34 – $1,034.88 |
| Providence Mission Hospital - Mission Viejo | Mission Viejo | $1,988.64 | $335.57 – $5,171.00 |
| California Hospital Medical Center | Los Angeles | $1,199.41 | $152.73 – $1,953.67 |
| Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center | Burbank | $543.90 | $394.79 – $2,581.00 |
| St Jude Medical Center | Fullerton | $779.52 | $335.57 – $4,188.00 |