Brain MRI (with contrast) at Mercy General Hospital
4001 J St., Sacramento, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1487694857
$1,892.03
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.
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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
$8,679.00
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.
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The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$213.68 with Hill Physicians vs $7,195.00 with Cigna — 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 →
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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 ?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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hill Physicians | Commercial|All Plans | $213.68 | ↓ -89% |
| Hill Physicians | Medicare|All Plans | $326.80 | ↓ -83% |
| United | Medicaid|< 21 | $379.01 | ↓ -80% |
| United | Medicaid|> 21 | $379.01 | ↓ -80% |
| Hill Physicians | Medicaid|All Plans | $416.91 | ↓ -78% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Other Plans | $442.55 | ↓ -77% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $469.30 | ↓ -75% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|HMO | $469.30 | ↓ -75% |
| Humana | Commercial|All Plans | $469.30 | ↓ -75% |
| Molina | Medicare|All Plans | $469.30 | ↓ -75% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $469.30 | ↓ -75% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|PPO | $469.30 | ↓ -75% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $469.30 | ↓ -75% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|Imperial | $483.38 | ↓ -74% |
| Molina | Medicaid|All Plans | $496.75 | ↓ -74% |
| BrightHealth | Commercial|All Plans | $516.23 | ↓ -73% |
| Prison Healthcare | Medicaid|All Plans | $703.95 | ↓ -63% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $828.27 | ↓ -56% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $828.27 | ↓ -56% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $828.27 | ↓ -56% |
| California Health & Wellness | Medicaid|All Plans | $879.30 | ↓ -54% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|All Plans | $879.30 | ↓ -54% |
| Aetna | Commercial|HMO | $1,257.26 | ↓ -34% |
| Aetna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $1,257.26 | ↓ -34% |
| Aetna | Commercial|PPO | $1,257.26 | ↓ -34% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|All Plans | $1,629.75 | ↓ -14% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|All Plans | $1,676.37 | ↓ -11% |
| Western Health Advantage | Commercial|All Plans | $3,037.65 | ↑ +61% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Connection EPO | $3,300.00 | ↑ +74% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|All Plans | $3,558.39 | ↑ +88% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|All Other Plans | $4,125.00 | ↑ +118% |
| Cigna | Commercial|LocalPlus | $5,397.00 | ↑ +185% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $5,981.00 | ↑ +216% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $6,248.88 | ↑ +230% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $6,509.25 | ↑ +244% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $6,856.41 | ↑ +262% |
| Sutter Health | Commercial|All Plans | $6,943.20 | ↑ +267% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $6,943.20 | ↑ +267% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $7,195.00 | ↑ +280% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Brain MRI (with contrast) at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Methodist Hospital of Sacramento | Sacramento | $2,499.56 | $213.68 – $7,203.57 |
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $2,534.27 | $453.77 – $4,513.08 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $2,813.94 | $71.43 – $4,714.20 |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital | Petaluma | $4,692.51 | $470.15 – $3,096.77 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $4,481.59 | $379.01 – $8,151.64 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $8,359.64 | $379.01 – $3,131.10 |
| French Hospital | San Luis Obispo | $3,567.20 | $379.01 – $2,111.00 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $3,188.75 | $379.01 – $6,876.00 |