Brain MRI (with and without contrast) 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

$3,255.38

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.

$11,668.00

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.

$446.18 with Kaiser vs $11,668.00 with US Behavioral Health — 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
Kaiser Medicaid|> 21 $446.18 ↓ -86%
Gold Coast Health Plan Medicaid|All Plans $446.18 ↓ -86%
HCLA Medicaid|Preferred IPA > 21 $446.18 ↓ -86%
HCLA Medicaid|Preferred IPA < 21 $446.18 ↓ -86%
Kaiser Medicaid|< 21 $446.18 ↓ -86%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Other Plans $453.77 ↓ -86%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -86%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -86%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -86%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -86%
Humana Commercial|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -86%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -86%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -86%
United Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -86%
LA Care Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -86%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -86%
Central Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -86%
Scan Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -86%
Central Health Plan Commercial|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -86%
MHN Commercial|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -86%
HCLA Medicare|Preferred IPA $453.77 ↓ -86%
LA Care Commercial|All Plans $567.21 ↓ -83%
Health Net Medicaid|< 21 $598.33 ↓ -82%
Health Net Medicaid|> 21 $598.33 ↓ -82%
Molina Medicaid|> 21 $624.65 ↓ -81%
Molina Medicaid|< 21 $624.65 ↓ -81%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|BlueShield Promise $799.00 ↓ -75%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $828.27 ↓ -75%
United Commercial|HMO $828.27 ↓ -75%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $1,156.09 ↓ -64%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $1,156.09 ↓ -64%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $1,156.09 ↓ -64%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Vivity $1,801.00 ↓ -45%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|< 21 $1,818.11 ↓ -44%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|> 21 $1,818.11 ↓ -44%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $1,965.00 ↓ -40%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $1,965.00 ↓ -40%
LA Care Medicaid|All Plans $2,047.97 ↓ -37%
Blue Shield CA Medicaid|All Plans $2,230.90 ↓ -31%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $2,489.00 ↓ -24%
DHR Medicaid|> 21 $2,917.00 ↓ -10%
DHR Medicaid|< 21 $2,917.00 ↓ -10%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $3,410.00 ↑ +5%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $9,334.40 ↑ +187%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $10,151.16 ↑ +212%
US Behavioral Health Commercial|All Plans $11,668.00 ↑ +258%

Visitor-reported prices

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Brain MRI (with and without contrast) at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $3,699.79 $453.77 – $6,588.66
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $3,376.73 $71.43 – $5,657.04
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $4,780.23 $470.15 – $5,091.33
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $4,627.11 $446.18 – $8,437.80
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $9,499.16 $446.18 – $3,578.96
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $3,689.90 $446.18 – $2,111.00
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $3,668.82 $446.18 – $7,911.20
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $3,629.27 $446.18 – $7,812.31

All California hospitals for this procedure →