Assay of urine sulfate at Northridge Hospital Medical Center

18300 Roscoe Blvd, Northridge, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1417089350

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

$5.06

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.

$18.13

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.

$2.54 with Blue Shield CA vs $31.50 with Blue Shield CA — 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 $2.54 ↓ -50%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|All Other Plans $3.09 ↓ -39%
DHR Medicaid|> 21 $4.54 ↓ -10%
DHR Medicaid|< 21 $4.54 ↓ -10%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $5.49 ↑ +8%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $5.49 ↑ +8%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $5.49 ↑ +8%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Other Plans $5.49 ↑ +8%
Scan Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $5.49 ↑ +8%
MHN Commercial|All Plans $5.49 ↑ +8%
HCLA Medicare|Preferred IPA $5.49 ↑ +8%
United Medicare|All Plans $5.49 ↑ +8%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $5.49 ↑ +8%
Humana Commercial|All Plans $5.49 ↑ +8%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $5.49 ↑ +8%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $5.49 ↑ +8%
Central Health Plan Commercial|All Plans $5.49 ↑ +8%
Central Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $5.49 ↑ +8%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $5.49 ↑ +8%
LA Care Medicare|All Plans $5.49 ↑ +8%
Gold Coast Health Plan Medicaid|All Plans $6.30 ↑ +25%
Kaiser Medicaid|< 21 $6.30 ↑ +25%
Kaiser Medicaid|> 21 $6.30 ↑ +25%
HCLA Medicaid|Preferred IPA < 21 $6.30 ↑ +25%
HCLA Medicaid|Preferred IPA > 21 $6.30 ↑ +25%
United Commercial|HMO $6.59 ↑ +30%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $6.59 ↑ +30%
LA Care Commercial|All Plans $6.86 ↑ +36%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|> 21 $7.90 ↑ +56%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|< 21 $7.90 ↑ +56%
Health Net Medicaid|< 21 $8.45 ↑ +67%
Health Net Medicaid|> 21 $8.45 ↑ +67%
Molina Medicaid|> 21 $8.82 ↑ +74%
Molina Medicaid|< 21 $8.82 ↑ +74%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $10.01 ↑ +98%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $10.01 ↑ +98%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|BlueShield Promise $11.79 ↑ +133%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Vivity $14.33 ↑ +183%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $14.51 ↑ +187%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $15.78 ↑ +212%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $16.68 ↑ +230%
US Behavioral Health Commercial|All Plans $18.13 ↑ +258%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $18.13 ↑ +258%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $18.13 ↑ +258%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $18.13 ↑ +258%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $18.13 ↑ +258%
LA Care Medicaid|All Plans $20.15 ↑ +298%
Blue Shield CA Medicaid|All Plans $31.50 ↑ +523%

Visitor-reported prices

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Assay of urine sulfate at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $38.19 $1.10 – $21.34
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $17.85 $5.38 – $38.91
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $7.76 $2.50 – $14.15
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $7.11 $1.35 – $16.64
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $3.10 $4.17 – $15.78
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $3.06 $4.17 – $15.78
Queen of The Valley Medical Center Napa $17.85 $5.49 – $49.17
Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka Eureka $17.85 $5.49 – $55.76

All California hospitals for this procedure →