Doppler echo complete 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

$641.58

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.

$1,258.00

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.

$258.94 with Aetna vs $703.39 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.

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
Aetna All Commercial Plans $258.94 ↓ -60%
Blue Cross Epo Exchange $489.34 ↓ -24%
Blue Cross Nonmcs All Commercial Plans $586.16 ↓ -9%
Blue Cross Mcs All Commercial Plans $703.39 ↑ +10%

Visitor-reported prices

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Doppler echo complete at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $676.28 $108.08 – $1,204.32
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $395.30 $15.58 – $126.34
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $600.92 $87.87 – $1,375.92
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $60.61 $23.55 – $89.18
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $554.68 $87.87 – $1,260.28
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $764.64 $87.87 – $1,648.80
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $774.74 $87.87 – $2,061.00
Queen of The Valley Medical Center Napa $842.52 $283.05 – $618.40

All California hospitals for this procedure →