J-tube placement at Mercy Medical Center Merced
333 Mercy Ave., Merced, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1518018191
$4,138.54
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.
$8,036.00
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.
$209.82 with BCBS - Anthem vs $15,877.00 with Aetna — 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 | $209.82 | ↓ -95% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|> 21 | $209.82 | ↓ -95% |
| Central California Alliance for Health | Medicaid|All Plans | $1,142.13 | ↓ -72% |
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $1,730.50 | ↓ -58% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $2,215.04 | ↓ -46% |
| Cigna | Commercial|PPO | $2,249.65 | ↓ -46% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $2,249.65 | ↓ -46% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|All Plans | $2,266.00 | ↓ -45% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $2,388.09 | ↓ -42% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $2,768.80 | ↓ -33% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $3,253.34 | ↓ -21% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $3,426.39 | ↓ -17% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $3,461.00 | ↓ -16% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $3,461.00 | ↓ -16% |
| United | Commercial|Options PPO | $3,461.00 | ↓ -16% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Exchange | $7,407.00 | ↑ +79% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|All Other Plans | $9,746.00 | ↑ +135% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $15,399.00 | ↑ +272% |
| Aetna | Commercial|HMO | $15,877.00 | ↑ +284% |
| Aetna | Commercial|PPO | $15,877.00 | ↑ +284% |
| Aetna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $15,877.00 | ↑ +284% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
J-tube placement at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $250.42 | $97.28 – $368.48 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $2,938.70 | $2,138.67 – $7,049.69 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $2,907.01 | $240.83 – $7,841.79 |
| St. Joseph's Medical Center Stockton | Stockton | $2,215.59 | $768.60 – $3,074.40 |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital | Petaluma | not published | $1,921.00 – $6,619.00 |
| Queen of The Valley Medical Center | Napa | not published | $5,592.00 – $10,593.00 |
| Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka | Eureka | not published | $5,835.00 – $10,413.00 |
| Healdsburg Hospital | Healdsburg | not published | $2,335.00 – $2,335.00 |