Assay of interleukin-6 (il-6) 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

$14.17

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.

$65.00

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.

$22.75 with Western Health Advantage vs $65.00 with United — 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
Western Health Advantage Commercial|All Plans $22.75 ↑ +61%
Kaiser Medicaid|All Plans $26.65 ↑ +88%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|ACO Trio CalPers $30.55 ↑ +116%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $32.50 ↑ +129%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|HMO $44.20 ↑ +212%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $46.80 ↑ +230%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|All Other Plans $47.45 ↑ +235%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|CalPers $47.45 ↑ +235%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $48.75 ↑ +244%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $51.35 ↑ +262%
Sutter Health Commercial|All Plans $52.00 ↑ +267%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $52.00 ↑ +267%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $65.00 ↑ +359%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Assay of interleukin-6 (il-6) at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Methodist Hospital of Sacramento Sacramento $18.72 $22.75 – $64.35
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $28.47 $17.55 – $50.70
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $36.93 $3.45 – $57.23
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $106.03 $16.92 – $37.98
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $27.82 $9.34 – $18.31
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $43.29 $4.81 – $18.19
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $25.48 $5.05 – $18.31
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $24.12 $9.34 – $14.95

All California hospitals for this procedure →