Bundled special stain group 1 microorganisms 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

$231.03

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.

$453.00

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.

$24.29 with Blue Cross vs $429.53 with Aetna — 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 Cross Epo Exchange $24.29 ↓ -89%
Blue Cross Nonmcs All Commercial Plans $29.10 ↓ -87%
Blue Cross Mcs All Commercial Plans $34.92 ↓ -85%
Healthnet Medicare Managed Care Plan $70.23 ↓ -70%
Aetna Medicare Managed Care Plan $71.66 ↓ -69%
Unitedhealthcare Select/Navigate Hmo $98.94 ↓ -57%
Unitedhealthcare All Commercial Plans $98.94 ↓ -57%
Aetna All Commercial Plans $429.53 ↑ +86%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
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Bundled special stain group 1 microorganisms at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $97.24 $13.77 – $234.14
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $122.93 $28.50 – $227.38
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $60.52 $18.89 – $71.54
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $112.59 $15.39 – $267.30
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $45.72 $25.00 – $253.59
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $45.22 $25.00 – $253.59
Queen of The Valley Medical Center Napa $108.12 $30.70 – $98.94
Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka Eureka $189.72 $34.81 – $98.94

All California hospitals for this procedure →