Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) X-ray at Mercy General Hospital
4001 J St., Sacramento, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1487694857
$256.15
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.
$1,175.00
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.
$32.34 with Hill Physicians vs $940.00 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 →
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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 | $32.34 | ↓ -87% |
| Hill Physicians | Medicare|All Plans | $43.01 | ↓ -83% |
| United | Medicaid|< 21 | $43.45 | ↓ -83% |
| United | Medicaid|> 21 | $43.45 | ↓ -83% |
| Hill Physicians | Medicaid|All Plans | $47.80 | ↓ -81% |
| Molina | Medicaid|All Plans | $56.95 | ↓ -78% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|All Plans | $82.56 | ↓ -68% |
| Aetna | Commercial|HMO | $99.90 | ↓ -61% |
| Aetna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $99.90 | ↓ -61% |
| Aetna | Commercial|PPO | $99.90 | ↓ -61% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|All Plans | $100.80 | ↓ -61% |
| California Health & Wellness | Medicaid|All Plans | $100.80 | ↓ -61% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Other Plans | $131.77 | ↓ -49% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|HMO | $139.74 | ↓ -45% |
| Humana | Commercial|All Plans | $139.74 | ↓ -45% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $139.74 | ↓ -45% |
| Molina | Medicare|All Plans | $139.74 | ↓ -45% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $139.74 | ↓ -45% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $139.74 | ↓ -45% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|PPO | $139.74 | ↓ -45% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|Imperial | $143.93 | ↓ -44% |
| BrightHealth | Commercial|All Plans | $153.71 | ↓ -40% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|All Plans | $186.83 | ↓ -27% |
| Prison Healthcare | Medicaid|All Plans | $209.61 | ↓ -18% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $245.18 | ↓ -4% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $245.18 | ↓ -4% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $245.18 | ↓ -4% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Connection EPO | $271.70 | ↑ +6% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|All Other Plans | $339.48 | ↑ +33% |
| Western Health Advantage | Commercial|All Plans | $411.25 | ↑ +61% |
| Cigna | Commercial|LocalPlus | $439.91 | ↑ +72% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|All Plans | $481.75 | ↑ +88% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $492.13 | ↑ +92% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $586.59 | ↑ +129% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $846.00 | ↑ +230% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $881.25 | ↑ +244% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $928.25 | ↑ +262% |
| Sutter Health | Commercial|All Plans | $940.00 | ↑ +267% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $940.00 | ↑ +267% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) X-ray at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Methodist Hospital of Sacramento | Sacramento | $338.40 | $32.34 – $975.25 |
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $448.95 | $65.73 – $799.50 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $465.76 | $21.27 – $688.70 |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital | Petaluma | $1,443.30 | $140.89 – $179.33 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $485.78 | $43.45 – $648.76 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $660.68 | $43.45 – $292.04 |
| French Hospital | San Luis Obispo | $284.20 | $43.45 – $601.70 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $356.16 | $43.45 – $768.00 |