Burr hole skull for biopsy 61140 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

?

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.

not published by hospital

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.

Full explanation →

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

$1,921.00 with Blue Shield vs $7,402.00 with Unitedhealthcare — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
?

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
Blue Shield Epn Exchange $1,921.00
Blue Shield Hmo/Pos/Ppo $2,343.00
Unitedhealthcare Select/Navigate Hmo $6,619.00
Unitedhealthcare All Commercial Plans $7,402.00

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Burr hole skull for biopsy 61140 at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo not published $1,136.61 – $1,986.76
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria not published $924.07 – $1,456.68
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas not published $924.07 – $924.07
French Hospital San Luis Obispo not published $924.07 – $1,456.68
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield not published $924.07 – $3,510.60
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield not published $924.07 – $3,510.60
Queen of The Valley Medical Center Napa not published $5,592.00 – $10,593.00
Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka Eureka not published $5,835.00 – $11,046.00

All California hospitals for this procedure →