Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (without contrast) at Mercy Medical Center Merced
333 Mercy Ave., Merced, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1518018191
$2,579.64
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.
$5,009.00
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.
$266.80 with Partnership Health Plan vs $5,539.00 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 | $266.80 | ↓ -90% |
| Health Plan of San Joaquin | Medicaid|> 21 | $266.80 | ↓ -90% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|> 21 | $266.80 | ↓ -90% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|< 21 | $266.80 | ↓ -90% |
| Health Plan of San Joaquin | Medicaid|< 21 | $266.80 | ↓ -90% |
| Inland Empire Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $266.80 | ↓ -90% |
| Central California Alliance for Health | Medicaid|All Plans | $266.80 | ↓ -90% |
| California Health & Wellness | Medicaid|> 21 | $266.80 | ↓ -90% |
| Molina | Medicaid|< 21 | $266.80 | ↓ -90% |
| Molina | Medicaid|> 21 | $266.80 | ↓ -90% |
| California Health & Wellness | Medicaid|< 21 | $266.80 | ↓ -90% |
| Inland Empire Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $266.80 | ↓ -90% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|> 21 | $266.80 | ↓ -90% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|< 21 | $266.80 | ↓ -90% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $266.80 | ↓ -90% |
| Allcare | Commercial|All Plans | $306.20 | ↓ -88% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $307.13 | ↓ -88% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $307.13 | ↓ -88% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $307.13 | ↓ -88% |
| Health Net | Medicare|All Plans | $307.13 | ↓ -88% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $307.13 | ↓ -88% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Plans | $307.13 | ↓ -88% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Plans | $307.13 | ↓ -88% |
| Scan Health Plan | Medicare|All Plans | $307.13 | ↓ -88% |
| LA Care | Medicare|All Plans | $307.13 | ↓ -88% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $517.79 | ↓ -80% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $517.79 | ↓ -80% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $517.79 | ↓ -80% |
| United | Commercial|Options PPO | $517.79 | ↓ -80% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|All Plans | $576.29 | ↓ -78% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|< 21 | $949.74 | ↓ -63% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|> 21 | $949.74 | ↓ -63% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $1,442.56 | ↓ -44% |
| Cigna | Commercial|PPO | $1,465.10 | ↓ -43% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $1,465.10 | ↓ -43% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $1,555.26 | ↓ -40% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $1,803.20 | ↓ -30% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $2,118.76 | ↓ -18% |
| Aetna | Commercial|PPO | $2,147.02 | ↓ -17% |
| Aetna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $2,147.02 | ↓ -17% |
| Aetna | Commercial|HMO | $2,147.02 | ↓ -17% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Exchange | $2,665.00 | ↑ +3% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|All Other Plans | $3,506.00 | ↑ +36% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $5,539.00 | ↑ +115% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (without contrast) at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $3,285.00 | $307.13 – $5,850.00 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $2,448.08 | $48.34 – $4,180.70 |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital | Petaluma | $5,534.52 | $321.54 – $2,866.28 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $2,416.49 | $266.80 – $4,191.46 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $6,473.52 | $266.80 – $2,461.76 |
| French Hospital | San Luis Obispo | $1,936.48 | $242.46 – $2,111.00 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $1,702.52 | $266.80 – $3,671.20 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $1,684.17 | $266.80 – $3,625.31 |