Culture body fluid 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

$84.81

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.

$389.00

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.

$7.51 with Partnership Health Plan vs $35.31 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
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|All Plans $7.51 ↓ -91%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Other Plans $8.13 ↓ -90%
Hill Physicians Medicare|All Plans $8.62 ↓ -90%
Hill Physicians Commercial|All Plans $8.62 ↓ -90%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $8.62 ↓ -90%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $8.62 ↓ -90%
Humana Commercial|All Plans $8.62 ↓ -90%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|PPO $8.62 ↓ -90%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $8.62 ↓ -90%
United Medicare|All Plans $8.62 ↓ -90%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|HMO $8.62 ↓ -90%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|Imperial $8.88 ↓ -90%
BrightHealth Commercial|All Plans $9.48 ↓ -89%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $10.34 ↓ -88%
United Commercial|HMO $10.34 ↓ -88%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $10.34 ↓ -88%
United Medicaid|< 21 $10.77 ↓ -87%
United Medicaid|> 21 $10.77 ↓ -87%
Hill Physicians Medicaid|All Plans $11.85 ↓ -86%
Western Health Advantage Commercial|All Plans $12.36 ↓ -85%
Prison Healthcare Medicaid|All Plans $12.93 ↓ -85%
Molina Medicaid|All Plans $14.12 ↓ -83%
Kaiser Medicaid|All Plans $14.48 ↓ -83%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|ACO Trio CalPers $16.60 ↓ -80%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $17.66 ↓ -79%
Cigna Commercial|LocalPlus $19.08 ↓ -78%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|All Plans $21.41 ↓ -75%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|HMO $24.02 ↓ -72%
California Health & Wellness Medicaid|All Plans $24.99 ↓ -71%
Health Net Medicaid|All Plans $24.99 ↓ -71%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $25.43 ↓ -70%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $25.44 ↓ -70%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|All Other Plans $25.78 ↓ -70%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|CalPers $25.78 ↓ -70%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $26.49 ↓ -69%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $27.90 ↓ -67%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Connection EPO $28.25 ↓ -67%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $28.25 ↓ -67%
Sutter Health Commercial|All Plans $28.25 ↓ -67%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $31.47 ↓ -63%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $31.47 ↓ -63%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $31.47 ↓ -63%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $35.31 ↓ -58%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $35.31 ↓ -58%

Visitor-reported prices

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Culture body fluid at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Methodist Hospital of Sacramento Sacramento $112.04 $7.51 – $29.31
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $281.20 $8.62 – $26.90
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $62.50 $1.72 – $17.46
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $382.50 $8.45 – $70.24
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $521.74 $8.62 – $22.20
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $129.21 $8.62 – $147.98
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $477.85 $5.56 – $26.10
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $223.72 $8.62 – $24.76

All California hospitals for this procedure →