Red blood cells each unit at Mercy Medical Center Merced
333 Mercy Ave., Merced, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1518018191
$217.33
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.
$422.00
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.
$129.66 with Partnership Health Plan vs $14,950.00 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $129.66 | ↓ -40% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|< 21 | $129.66 | ↓ -40% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|> 21 | $129.66 | ↓ -40% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $129.66 | ↓ -40% |
| Health Plan of San Joaquin | Medicaid|> 21 | $129.66 | ↓ -40% |
| Molina | Medicaid|< 21 | $129.66 | ↓ -40% |
| Molina | Medicaid|> 21 | $129.66 | ↓ -40% |
| Health Plan of San Joaquin | Medicaid|< 21 | $129.66 | ↓ -40% |
| Inland Empire Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $129.66 | ↓ -40% |
| Central California Alliance for Health | Medicaid|All Plans | $129.66 | ↓ -40% |
| California Health & Wellness | Medicaid|> 21 | $129.66 | ↓ -40% |
| California Health & Wellness | Medicaid|< 21 | $129.66 | ↓ -40% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|> 21 | $129.66 | ↓ -40% |
| Inland Empire Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $129.66 | ↓ -40% |
| Kern Health System | Medicaid|< 21 | $129.66 | ↓ -40% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|> 21 | $149.11 | ↓ -31% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|< 21 | $149.11 | ↓ -31% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $183.37 | ↓ -16% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $183.37 | ↓ -16% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $183.37 | ↓ -16% |
| Health Net | Medicare|All Plans | $183.37 | ↓ -16% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $183.37 | ↓ -16% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Plans | $183.37 | ↓ -16% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Plans | $183.37 | ↓ -16% |
| Scan Health Plan | Medicare|All Plans | $183.37 | ↓ -16% |
| LA Care | Medicare|All Plans | $183.37 | ↓ -16% |
| Allcare | Commercial|All Plans | $183.63 | ↓ -16% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $253.20 | ↑ +17% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $274.30 | ↑ +26% |
| Cigna | Commercial|PPO | $274.30 | ↑ +26% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|All Plans | $280.07 | ↑ +29% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $291.18 | ↑ +34% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Exchange | $303.84 | ↑ +40% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $337.60 | ↑ +55% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $396.68 | ↑ +83% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|All Other Plans | $400.90 | ↑ +84% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $422.00 | ↑ +94% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $422.00 | ↑ +94% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $9,362.00 | ↑ +4208% |
| United | Commercial|Options PPO | $9,722.00 | ↑ +4373% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $14,950.00 | ↑ +6779% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Red blood cells each unit at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $146.73 | $90.45 – $340.16 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $873.71 | $129.66 – $1,884.00 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $864.29 | $129.66 – $1,860.45 |
| St. Joseph's Medical Center Stockton | Stockton | $511.27 | $129.66 – $1,425.98 |
| Mercy Medical Center Mt. Shasta | Mt Shasta | $690.87 | $48.72 – $198.94 |
| Dominican Hospital | Santa Cruz | $457.65 | $129.66 – $864.45 |
| Northridge Hospital Medical Center | Northridge | $126.67 | $113.50 – $4,018.00 |
| Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital | Grass Valley | $465.43 | $129.66 – $597.80 |