Assay of prostaglandin at Mercy Medical Center Mt. Shasta

914 Pine St, Mt Shasta, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1518085430

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Feb 28, 2026 · Ingested Sep 10, 2026

$252.85

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.

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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$325.00

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.

$27.17 with Partnership Health Plan vs $112.70 with MultiPlan — 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
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|All Plans $27.17 ↓ -89%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $41.77 ↓ -83%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $41.77 ↓ -83%
United Medicare|All Plans $41.77 ↓ -83%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $41.77 ↓ -83%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $41.77 ↓ -83%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $41.77 ↓ -83%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $41.77 ↓ -83%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|All Plans $46.06 ↓ -82%
California Health & Wellness Medicaid|All Plans $59.80 ↓ -76%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Exchange $78.20 ↓ -69%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $94.30 ↓ -63%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $94.30 ↓ -63%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $96.60 ↓ -62%
United Commercial|HMO $98.90 ↓ -61%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $100.05 ↓ -60%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $100.05 ↓ -60%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $100.05 ↓ -60%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $101.20 ↓ -60%
Health Net Commercial|All Plans $106.95 ↓ -58%
Coventry Commercial|All Plans $112.70 ↓ -55%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $112.70 ↓ -55%

Visitor-reported prices

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Assay of prostaglandin at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $203.45 $8.35 – $315.25
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $139.10 $38.97 – $112.70
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $216.45 $38.97 – $318.50
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $127.40 $31.05 – $126.52
Northridge Hospital Medical Center Northridge $90.68 $38.97 – $325.00
Mercy Medical Center Redding Redding $164.78 $27.17 – $112.70
St. Elizabeth Community Hospital Red Bluff $189.80 $27.17 – $112.70
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma not published $40.93 – $203.73

All California hospitals for this procedure →