Virus isolation addl studies ea 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

$68.50

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.

$133.00

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.

$9.57 with Blue Shield CA vs $33.00 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 →

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
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $9.57 ↓ -86%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|All Other Plans $12.87 ↓ -81%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $19.80 ↓ -71%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $20.20 ↓ -71%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $20.20 ↓ -71%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $20.20 ↓ -71%
LA Care Medicare|All Plans $20.20 ↓ -71%
Scan Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $20.20 ↓ -71%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $20.20 ↓ -71%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $20.20 ↓ -71%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $20.20 ↓ -71%
United Medicare|All Plans $20.20 ↓ -71%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|> 21 $21.41 ↓ -69%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|< 21 $21.41 ↓ -69%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $21.45 ↓ -69%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $21.45 ↓ -69%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Exchange $22.44 ↓ -67%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $22.77 ↓ -67%
Health Plan of San Joaquin Medicaid|> 21 $22.95 ↓ -66%
Inland Empire Health Plan Medicaid|< 21 $22.95 ↓ -66%
Kaiser Medicaid|< 21 $22.95 ↓ -66%
Kaiser Medicaid|> 21 $22.95 ↓ -66%
California Health & Wellness Medicaid|> 21 $22.95 ↓ -66%
Health Plan of San Joaquin Medicaid|< 21 $22.95 ↓ -66%
Inland Empire Health Plan Medicaid|> 21 $22.95 ↓ -66%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|< 21 $22.95 ↓ -66%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|> 21 $22.95 ↓ -66%
Kern Health System Medicaid|< 21 $22.95 ↓ -66%
Kern Health System Medicaid|> 21 $22.95 ↓ -66%
California Health & Wellness Medicaid|< 21 $22.95 ↓ -66%
Central California Alliance for Health Medicaid|All Plans $22.95 ↓ -66%
Molina Medicaid|> 21 $22.95 ↓ -66%
Molina Medicaid|< 21 $22.95 ↓ -66%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $24.24 ↓ -65%
United Commercial|Options PPO $24.24 ↓ -65%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $24.24 ↓ -65%
United Commercial|HMO $24.24 ↓ -65%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $26.40 ↓ -61%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $29.37 ↓ -57%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $31.02 ↓ -55%
Health Net Medicaid|All Plans $33.00 ↓ -52%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $33.00 ↓ -52%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $33.00 ↓ -52%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $33.00 ↓ -52%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $33.00 ↓ -52%

Visitor-reported prices

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Virus isolation addl studies ea at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $14.46 $8.91 – $53.60
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $14.13 $16.50 – $52.05
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $21.98 $17.87 – $32.34
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $12.94 $8.91 – $61.19
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $49.35 $16.50 – $58.05
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $48.82 $16.50 – $58.05
St. Joseph's Behavioral Health Center Stockton $75.95 $3.30 – $26.40
St. Joseph's Medical Center Stockton Stockton $39.11 $6.93 – $33.00

All California hospitals for this procedure →