CT t-spine w /wo contrast 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

$1,569.60

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.

$7,200.00

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.

$158.91 with Hill Physicians vs $5,760.00 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
Hill Physicians Commercial|All Plans $158.91 ↓ -90%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Other Plans $220.61 ↓ -86%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|HMO $233.94 ↓ -85%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|PPO $233.94 ↓ -85%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $233.94 ↓ -85%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $233.94 ↓ -85%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $233.94 ↓ -85%
Humana Commercial|All Plans $233.94 ↓ -85%
United Medicare|All Plans $233.94 ↓ -85%
Hill Physicians Medicare|All Plans $234.28 ↓ -85%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|Imperial $240.96 ↓ -85%
BrightHealth Commercial|All Plans $257.33 ↓ -84%
United Medicaid|< 21 $277.04 ↓ -82%
United Medicaid|> 21 $277.04 ↓ -82%
Hill Physicians Medicaid|All Plans $304.74 ↓ -81%
Prison Healthcare Medicaid|All Plans $350.91 ↓ -78%
Molina Medicaid|All Plans $363.10 ↓ -77%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $401.74 ↓ -74%
United Commercial|HMO $401.74 ↓ -74%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $401.74 ↓ -74%
California Health & Wellness Medicaid|All Plans $642.73 ↓ -59%
Health Net Medicaid|All Plans $642.73 ↓ -59%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|All Plans $690.95 ↓ -56%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $1,081.35 ↓ -31%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $1,081.35 ↓ -31%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $1,081.35 ↓ -31%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|All Plans $1,191.27 ↓ -24%
Western Health Advantage Commercial|All Plans $2,520.00 ↑ +61%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Connection EPO $2,740.00 ↑ +75%
Kaiser Medicaid|All Plans $2,952.00 ↑ +88%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $3,425.00 ↑ +118%
Cigna Commercial|LocalPlus $3,925.00 ↑ +150%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $4,966.00 ↑ +216%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $5,184.00 ↑ +230%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $5,233.00 ↑ +233%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $5,400.00 ↑ +244%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $5,688.00 ↑ +262%
Sutter Health Commercial|All Plans $5,760.00 ↑ +267%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $5,760.00 ↑ +267%

Visitor-reported prices

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CT t-spine w /wo contrast at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Methodist Hospital of Sacramento Sacramento $2,073.60 $158.91 – $5,976.00
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $2,148.39 $226.19 – $3,825.90
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $1,795.19 $35.60 – $3,060.35
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $6,113.88 $236.37 – $2,039.84
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $3,793.37 $226.19 – $7,238.28
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $5,935.40 $277.04 – $1,918.84
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $3,032.91 $226.19 – $1,768.00
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $3,729.30 $226.19 – $8,041.60

All California hospitals for this procedure →