Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) X-ray at Queen of The Valley Medical Center
1000 Trancas St, Napa, CA · Providence · · NPI 1013080084
$1,225.02
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.
$2,402.00
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.
$148.44 with Aetna vs $284.61 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 | $148.44 | ↓ -88% |
| Unitedhealthcare | Select/Navigate Hmo | $179.33 | ↓ -85% |
| Unitedhealthcare | All Commercial Plans | $179.33 | ↓ -85% |
| Blue Cross | Epo Exchange | $197.80 | ↓ -84% |
| Aetna | All Commercial Plans | $235.06 | ↓ -81% |
| Blue Cross | Nonmcs All Commercial Plans | $237.17 | ↓ -81% |
| Blue Cross | Mcs Ppo | $284.61 | ↓ -77% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) X-ray at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $448.95 | $65.73 – $799.50 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $465.76 | $21.27 – $688.70 |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital | Petaluma | $1,443.30 | $140.89 – $179.33 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $485.78 | $43.45 – $648.76 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $660.68 | $43.45 – $292.04 |
| French Hospital | San Luis Obispo | $284.20 | $43.45 – $601.70 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $356.16 | $43.45 – $768.00 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $352.32 | $43.45 – $758.40 |