Aspirate pleura without imaging 32554 at Mercy General Hospital

4001 J St., Sacramento, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1487694857

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

$814.45

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.

$3,736.00

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.

$85.02 with United vs $6,582.00 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
United Medicaid|< 21 $85.02 ↓ -90%
United Medicaid|> 21 $85.02 ↓ -90%
Hill Physicians Commercial|All Plans $86.36 ↓ -89%
Hill Physicians Medicaid|All Plans $102.77 ↓ -87%
Molina Medicaid|All Plans $139.29 ↓ -83%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|All Plans $140.77 ↓ -83%
Health Net Medicaid|All Plans $216.76 ↓ -73%
California Health & Wellness Medicaid|All Plans $216.76 ↓ -73%
Hill Physicians Medicare|All Plans $260.63 ↓ -68%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|All Plans $318.59 ↓ -61%
Western Health Advantage Commercial|All Plans $692.65 ↓ -15%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Other Plans $766.15 ↓ -6%
Kaiser Medicaid|All Plans $811.39 ↓ -0%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|HMO $812.46 ↓ -0%
United Medicare|All Plans $812.46 ↓ -0%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $812.46 ↓ -0%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|PPO $812.46 ↓ -0%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $812.46 ↓ -0%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $812.46 ↓ -0%
Humana Commercial|All Plans $812.46 ↓ -0%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|Imperial $836.83 ↑ +3%
BrightHealth Commercial|All Plans $893.71 ↑ +10%
Prison Healthcare Medicaid|All Plans $1,218.69 ↑ +50%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $1,424.88 ↑ +75%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $1,484.25 ↑ +82%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $1,563.41 ↑ +92%
Sutter Health Commercial|All Plans $1,583.20 ↑ +94%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $1,583.20 ↑ +94%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $1,979.00 ↑ +143%
Health Net Commercial|EPPO $3,312.00 ↑ +307%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Connection EPO $3,631.00 ↑ +346%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $4,539.00 ↑ +457%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $5,002.00 ↑ +514%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $5,002.00 ↑ +514%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $5,002.00 ↑ +514%
Health Net Commercial|FFS $6,108.00 ↑ +650%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $6,582.00 ↑ +708%

Visitor-reported prices

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Aspirate pleura without imaging 32554 at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Methodist Hospital of Sacramento Sacramento $1,075.97 $85.02 – $1,642.57
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $580.35 $104.57 – $1,452.04
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $976.14 $845.36 – $2,695.00
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $2,108.56 $63.13 – $239.12
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $619.20 $85.02 – $1,335.20
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $612.53 $85.02 – $1,318.51
Queen of The Valley Medical Center Napa $4,047.87 $890.68 – $6,200.00
Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka Eureka $5,978.73 $806.82 – $8,018.00

All California hospitals for this procedure →