Neck (Cervical Spine) MRI (without contrast) at St. Elizabeth Community Hospital

2550 Sister Mary Columba Dr, Red Bluff, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1083732853

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Feb 28, 2026 · Ingested Sep 10, 2026

$2,421.85

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.

$4,147.00

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.

$307.13 with United vs $4,064.06 with MultiPlan — 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
United Medicare|All Plans $307.13 ↓ -87%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $307.13 ↓ -87%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $307.13 ↓ -87%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $307.13 ↓ -87%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $307.13 ↓ -87%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $307.13 ↓ -87%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $307.13 ↓ -87%
California Health & Wellness Medicaid|All Plans $527.27 ↓ -78%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|All Plans $1,145.07 ↓ -53%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|All Plans $1,180.98 ↓ -51%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Exchange $2,032.03 ↓ -16%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $2,322.32 ↓ -4%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $2,488.20 ↑ +3%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $2,902.90 ↑ +20%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $2,902.90 ↑ +20%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $2,902.90 ↑ +20%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $3,027.31 ↑ +25%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $3,027.31 ↑ +25%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|All Other Plans $3,027.31 ↑ +25%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $3,732.30 ↑ +54%
United Commercial|HMO $3,856.71 ↑ +59%
Coventry Commercial|All Plans $4,064.06 ↑ +68%
Health Net Commercial|All Plans $4,064.06 ↑ +68%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $4,064.06 ↑ +68%

Visitor-reported prices

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Neck (Cervical Spine) MRI (without contrast) at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $3,174.63 $307.13 – $5,653.44
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $1,380.24 $48.34 – $2,357.10
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $4,537.98 $321.54 – $2,586.61
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $2,410.50 $266.30 – $4,194.40
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $5,826.17 $266.30 – $2,463.72
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $1,942.76 $243.27 – $2,111.00
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $1,601.24 $266.30 – $3,452.80
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $1,583.98 $266.30 – $3,409.64

All California hospitals for this procedure →