Brain MRA (blood vessel MRI, with and without contrast) at Petaluma Valley Hospital

400 N Mcdowell Blvd, Petaluma, CA · Providence · · NPI 1235162645

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Apr 1, 2026 · Ingested Sep 11, 2026

not published by hospital

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.

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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

not published by hospital

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.

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The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$470.15 with Healthnet vs $7,514.75 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.

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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
Healthnet Medicare Managed Care Plan $470.15
Aetna Medicare Managed Care Plan $479.74
Unitedhealthcare All Commercial Plans $610.96
Unitedhealthcare Select/Navigate Hmo $610.96
Aetna All Commercial Plans $1,995.63
Blue Cross Epo Exchange $5,227.89
Blue Cross Nonmcs All Commercial Plans $6,262.31
Blue Cross Mcs All Commercial Plans $7,514.75

Visitor-reported prices

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Brain MRA (blood vessel MRI, with and without contrast) at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $2,761.59 $453.77 – $4,917.90
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $838.35 $71.43 – $3,011.85
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $4,128.06 $324.17 – $7,135.38
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $12,859.13 $324.17 – $4,885.30
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $3,290.45 $324.17 – $2,111.00
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $2,943.89 $324.17 – $6,348.00
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $2,912.15 $324.17 – $6,268.65
Queen of The Valley Medical Center Napa $7,044.12 $495.35 – $6,606.76

All California hospitals for this procedure →