Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) CT scan (with contrast) at Northridge Hospital Medical Center
18300 Roscoe Blvd, Northridge, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1417089350
$3,696.20
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.
$13,248.00
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.
$233.92 with Kaiser vs $13,248.00 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 →
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaiser | Medicaid|< 21 | $233.92 | ↓ -94% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|> 21 | $233.92 | ↓ -94% |
| HCLA | Medicaid|Preferred IPA < 21 | $233.92 | ↓ -94% |
| Gold Coast Health Plan | Medicaid|All Plans | $233.92 | ↓ -94% |
| HCLA | Medicaid|Preferred IPA > 21 | $233.92 | ↓ -94% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|< 21 | $313.69 | ↓ -92% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|> 21 | $313.69 | ↓ -92% |
| Molina | Medicaid|> 21 | $327.49 | ↓ -91% |
| Molina | Medicaid|< 21 | $327.49 | ↓ -91% |
| Scan Health Plan | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -88% |
| Health Net | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -88% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Other Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -88% |
| Humana | Commercial|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -88% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -88% |
| Central Health Plan | Commercial|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -88% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -88% |
| Central Health Plan | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -88% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -88% |
| MHN | Commercial|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -88% |
| HCLA | Medicare|Preferred IPA | $453.77 | ↓ -88% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -88% |
| LA Care | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -88% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -88% |
| Molina | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -88% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -88% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|< 21 | $483.67 | ↓ -87% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|> 21 | $483.67 | ↓ -87% |
| LA Care | Commercial|All Plans | $567.21 | ↓ -85% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $828.27 | ↓ -78% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $828.27 | ↓ -78% |
| Aetna | Commercial|HMO | $895.64 | ↓ -76% |
| Aetna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $895.64 | ↓ -76% |
| Aetna | Commercial|PPO | $895.64 | ↓ -76% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Vivity | $1,001.00 | ↓ -73% |
| LA Care | Medicaid|All Plans | $1,073.69 | ↓ -71% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicaid|All Plans | $1,169.60 | ↓ -68% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|All Other Plans | $1,383.00 | ↓ -63% |
| Cigna | Commercial|PPO | $1,617.00 | ↓ -56% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $1,617.00 | ↓ -56% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $1,895.00 | ↓ -49% |
| DHR | Medicaid|< 21 | $3,312.00 | ↓ -10% |
| DHR | Medicaid|> 21 | $3,312.00 | ↓ -10% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|BlueShield Promise | $8,611.20 | ↑ +133% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $10,598.40 | ↑ +187% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $11,525.76 | ↑ +212% |
| US Behavioral Health | Commercial|All Plans | $13,248.00 | ↑ +258% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) CT scan (with contrast) at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $1,543.52 | $353.90 – $2,748.72 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $1,746.26 | $71.43 – $2,976.93 |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital | Petaluma | $6,076.14 | $470.15 – $1,637.00 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $3,402.18 | $233.92 – $5,917.24 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $5,641.02 | $233.92 – $1,778.70 |
| French Hospital | San Luis Obispo | $2,726.36 | $233.92 – $1,768.00 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $3,536.75 | $233.92 – $7,626.40 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $3,498.62 | $233.92 – $7,531.07 |