Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) CT scan (with and without contrast) at Queen of The Valley Medical Center
1000 Trancas St, Napa, CA · Providence · · NPI 1013080084
$6,473.94
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.
$12,694.00
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.
$249.04 with Aetna vs $3,709.18 with Blue Cross — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aetna | Medicare Managed Care Plan | $249.04 | ↓ -96% |
| Unitedhealthcare | Select/Navigate Hmo | $291.55 | ↓ -95% |
| Unitedhealthcare | All Commercial Plans | $291.55 | ↓ -95% |
| Aetna | All Commercial Plans | $2,546.02 | ↓ -61% |
| Blue Cross | Epo Exchange | $2,577.85 | ↓ -60% |
| Blue Cross | Nonmcs All Commercial Plans | $3,090.99 | ↓ -52% |
| Blue Cross | Mcs Ppo | $3,709.18 | ↓ -43% |
Visitor-reported prices
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Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) CT scan (with and without contrast) at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $1,561.04 | $226.19 – $2,779.92 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $2,095.63 | $35.60 – $3,572.51 |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital | Petaluma | $261.63 | $236.37 – $2,039.84 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $3,794.22 | $226.19 – $7,264.74 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $5,909.42 | $275.51 – $1,910.02 |
| French Hospital | San Luis Obispo | $3,025.85 | $226.19 – $1,768.00 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $3,985.66 | $226.19 – $8,594.40 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $3,942.69 | $226.19 – $8,486.97 |