Assay of urine sulfate at Sequoia Hospital

170 Alameda de las Pulgas, Redwood City, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1568646735

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

$4.14

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.

$11.36

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.

$2.50 with Blue Shield CA vs $19.12 with Cigna — 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 Shield CA Commercial|ACO Trio $2.50 ↓ -40%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $2.62 ↓ -37%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|All Other Plans $3.19 ↓ -23%
Connected Care Commercial|Intel $4.89 ↑ +18%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $5.49 ↑ +33%
United Medicare|All Plans $5.49 ↑ +33%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $5.49 ↑ +33%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $5.49 ↑ +33%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $5.49 ↑ +33%
Health Net Commercial|Canopy Health $5.49 ↑ +33%
Humana Commercial|All Plans $5.49 ↑ +33%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $5.49 ↑ +33%
Health Plan San Mateo Medicare|All Plans $5.49 ↑ +33%
Chinese Community Medicare|All Plans $5.49 ↑ +33%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $5.49 ↑ +33%
Brown Toland Commercial|All Plans $6.04 ↑ +46%
Kaiser Medicaid|> 21 $6.30 ↑ +52%
Kaiser Medicaid|< 21 $6.30 ↑ +52%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|< 21 $6.30 ↑ +52%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|> 21 $6.30 ↑ +52%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|< 21 $6.30 ↑ +52%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|> 21 $6.30 ↑ +52%
United Commercial|Options PPO $6.59 ↑ +59%
United Commercial|HMO $6.59 ↑ +59%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $6.59 ↑ +59%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $7.73 ↑ +87%
Health Net Medicaid|> 21 $7.75 ↑ +87%
Health Net Medicaid|< 21 $7.75 ↑ +87%
Health Plan San Mateo Medicaid|< 21 $7.75 ↑ +87%
Health Plan San Mateo Medicaid|> 21 $7.75 ↑ +87%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $8.75 ↑ +111%
Multiplan Commercial|All Plans $9.32 ↑ +125%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $10.23 ↑ +147%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $11.36 ↑ +174%
Aetna Commercial|All Plans $11.36 ↑ +174%
Sutter Health Commercial|All Plans $17.18 ↑ +315%
Cigna Commercial|All Plans $19.12 ↑ +362%

Visitor-reported prices

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Assay of urine sulfate at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $38.19 $1.10 – $21.34
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $17.85 $5.38 – $38.91
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $7.76 $2.50 – $14.15
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $7.11 $1.35 – $16.64
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $3.10 $4.17 – $15.78
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $3.06 $4.17 – $15.78
Queen of The Valley Medical Center Napa $17.85 $5.49 – $49.17
Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka Eureka $17.85 $5.49 – $55.76

All California hospitals for this procedure →