Heparin assay 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

$22.43

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.

$61.60

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.

$12.76 with Blue Shield CA vs $58.00 with BCBS - Anthem — 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 $12.76 ↓ -43%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $13.09 ↓ -42%
Health Plan San Mateo Medicare|All Plans $13.09 ↓ -42%
Chinese Community Medicare|All Plans $13.09 ↓ -42%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $13.09 ↓ -42%
Humana Commercial|All Plans $13.09 ↓ -42%
United Medicare|All Plans $13.09 ↓ -42%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $13.09 ↓ -42%
Health Net Commercial|Canopy Health $13.09 ↓ -42%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $13.09 ↓ -42%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $13.09 ↓ -42%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $13.09 ↓ -42%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $13.34 ↓ -41%
Brown Toland Commercial|All Plans $14.40 ↓ -36%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $15.71 ↓ -30%
United Commercial|HMO $15.71 ↓ -30%
United Commercial|Options PPO $15.71 ↓ -30%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|All Other Plans $16.24 ↓ -28%
Kaiser Medicaid|> 21 $16.45 ↓ -27%
Kaiser Medicaid|< 21 $16.45 ↓ -27%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|< 21 $16.45 ↓ -27%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|> 21 $16.45 ↓ -27%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|< 21 $16.45 ↓ -27%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|> 21 $16.45 ↓ -27%
Health Net Medicaid|> 21 $20.23 ↓ -10%
Health Net Medicaid|< 21 $20.23 ↓ -10%
Health Plan San Mateo Medicaid|< 21 $20.24 ↓ -10%
Health Plan San Mateo Medicaid|> 21 $20.24 ↓ -10%
Connected Care Commercial|Intel $24.94 ↑ +11%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $39.44 ↑ +76%
Sutter Health Commercial|All Plans $40.97 ↑ +83%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $44.66 ↑ +99%
Cigna Commercial|All Plans $45.58 ↑ +103%
Multiplan Commercial|All Plans $47.56 ↑ +112%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $52.20 ↑ +133%
Aetna Commercial|All Plans $56.91 ↑ +154%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $58.00 ↑ +159%

Visitor-reported prices

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Heparin assay at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $98.55 $13.09 – $48.05
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $38.74 $2.62 – $40.74
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $316.71 $12.83 – $90.79
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $59.58 $13.09 – $44.10
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $117.89 $13.09 – $44.10
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $54.57 $12.15 – $44.10
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $128.74 $11.50 – $37.62
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $127.35 $12.00 – $37.62

All California hospitals for this procedure →