Crystal identification light microscopy 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

$114.30

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.

$314.00

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.

Full explanation →

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

$7.33 with Humana vs $162.01 with BCBS - Anthem — 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
Humana Commercial|All Plans $7.33 ↓ -94%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $7.33 ↓ -94%
Health Plan San Mateo Medicare|All Plans $7.33 ↓ -94%
Chinese Community Medicare|All Plans $7.33 ↓ -94%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $7.33 ↓ -94%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $7.33 ↓ -94%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $7.33 ↓ -94%
Health Net Commercial|Canopy Health $7.33 ↓ -94%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $7.33 ↓ -94%
United Medicare|All Plans $7.33 ↓ -94%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $7.33 ↓ -94%
Brown Toland Commercial|All Plans $8.06 ↓ -93%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $8.80 ↓ -92%
United Commercial|Options PPO $8.80 ↓ -92%
United Commercial|HMO $8.80 ↓ -92%
Kaiser Medicaid|> 21 $9.12 ↓ -92%
Kaiser Medicaid|< 21 $9.12 ↓ -92%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|< 21 $9.12 ↓ -92%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|> 21 $9.12 ↓ -92%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|< 21 $9.12 ↓ -92%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|> 21 $9.12 ↓ -92%
Health Net Medicaid|> 21 $11.22 ↓ -90%
Health Net Medicaid|< 21 $11.22 ↓ -90%
Health Plan San Mateo Medicaid|< 21 $11.22 ↓ -90%
Health Plan San Mateo Medicaid|> 21 $11.22 ↓ -90%
Sutter Health Commercial|All Plans $22.94 ↓ -80%
Cigna Commercial|All Plans $25.49 ↓ -78%
Aetna Commercial|All Plans $31.09 ↓ -73%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|ACO Trio $41.36 ↓ -64%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $43.24 ↓ -62%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|All Other Plans $52.64 ↓ -54%
Connected Care Commercial|Intel $80.84 ↓ -29%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $95.60 ↓ -16%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $127.84 ↑ +12%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $144.76 ↑ +27%
Multiplan Commercial|All Plans $154.16 ↑ +35%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $162.01 ↑ +42%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Crystal identification light microscopy at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $77.09 $7.33 – $22.87
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $52.59 $1.47 – $73.72
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $176.46 $7.18 – $58.31
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $119.84 $7.33 – $21.56
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $104.57 $4.75 – $17.97
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $109.76 $5.94 – $22.18
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $68.64 $7.33 – $52.00
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $67.90 $7.33 – $51.35

All California hospitals for this procedure →