CT thoracic spine w/contrast 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

$2,485.76

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.

$6,829.00

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.

$235.73 with BCBS - Anthem vs $5,599.78 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
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|> 21 $235.73 ↓ -91%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|< 21 $235.73 ↓ -91%
Kaiser Medicaid|> 21 $235.73 ↓ -91%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|> 21 $235.73 ↓ -91%
Kaiser Medicaid|< 21 $235.73 ↓ -91%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|< 21 $235.73 ↓ -91%
Brown Toland Medicare|All Plans $236.47 ↓ -90%
Humana Commercial|All Plans $261.07 ↓ -89%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $261.07 ↓ -89%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $261.07 ↓ -89%
United Medicare|All Plans $261.07 ↓ -89%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $261.07 ↓ -89%
Health Net Commercial|Canopy Health $261.07 ↓ -89%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $261.07 ↓ -89%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $261.07 ↓ -89%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $261.07 ↓ -89%
Chinese Community Medicare|All Plans $261.07 ↓ -89%
Health Plan San Mateo Medicare|All Plans $261.07 ↓ -89%
Brown Toland Commercial|All Plans $287.18 ↓ -88%
Health Net Medicaid|< 21 $289.95 ↓ -88%
Health Plan San Mateo Medicaid|> 21 $289.95 ↓ -88%
Health Plan San Mateo Medicaid|< 21 $289.95 ↓ -88%
Health Net Medicaid|> 21 $289.95 ↓ -88%
United Commercial|Options PPO $401.74 ↓ -84%
United Commercial|HMO $401.74 ↓ -84%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $401.74 ↓ -84%
Sutter Health Commercial|All Plans $817.15 ↓ -67%
Aetna Commercial|All Plans $1,387.93 ↓ -44%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $1,442.00 ↓ -42%
Cigna Commercial|All Plans $2,429.00 ↓ -2%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $2,444.00 ↓ -2%
Connected Care Commercial|Intel $2,936.47 ↑ +18%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $4,643.72 ↑ +87%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $5,258.33 ↑ +112%
Multiplan Commercial|All Plans $5,599.78 ↑ +125%

Visitor-reported prices

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CT thoracic spine w/contrast at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $1,527.31 $226.19 – $2,719.86
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $1,495.90 $35.60 – $2,550.13
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $5,563.08 $236.37 – $1,637.00
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $3,130.82 $226.19 – $5,445.86
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $5,665.67 $235.73 – $1,786.54
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $2,509.20 $226.19 – $1,768.00
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $3,309.32 $226.19 – $7,136.00
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $3,273.64 $226.19 – $7,046.80

All California hospitals for this procedure →