Head CT scan (with contrast) at Petaluma Valley Hospital
400 N Mcdowell Blvd, Petaluma, CA · Providence · · NPI 1235162645
$3,650.07
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.
$7,157.00
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.
$236.37 with Healthnet vs $1,886.84 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 →
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Healthnet | Medicare Managed Care Plan | $236.37 | ↓ -94% |
| Aetna | Medicare Managed Care Plan | $241.20 | ↓ -93% |
| Unitedhealthcare | All Commercial Plans | $291.55 | ↓ -92% |
| Unitedhealthcare | Select/Navigate Hmo | $291.55 | ↓ -92% |
| Aetna | All Commercial Plans | $1,097.00 | ↓ -70% |
| Blue Cross | Epo Exchange | $1,312.65 | ↓ -64% |
| Blue Cross | Nonmcs All Commercial Plans | $1,572.37 | ↓ -57% |
| Blue Cross | Mcs All Commercial Plans | $1,886.84 | ↓ -48% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Head CT scan (with contrast) at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $2,133.94 | $226.19 – $3,800.16 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $890.21 | $35.60 – $1,536.48 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $2,699.83 | $204.88 – $4,685.38 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $4,500.83 | $204.88 – $1,466.08 |
| French Hospital | San Luis Obispo | $2,154.44 | $204.88 – $1,768.00 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $2,183.34 | $204.88 – $4,708.00 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $2,159.80 | $204.88 – $4,649.15 |
| Queen of The Valley Medical Center | Napa | $2,839.17 | $249.04 – $1,658.86 |