Potassium hydroxide preps 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

$29.43

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.

$135.00

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.

$4.65 with Partnership Health Plan vs $109.90 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 $4.65 ↓ -84%
United Medicaid|> 21 $4.65 ↓ -84%
United Medicaid|< 21 $4.65 ↓ -84%
Hill Physicians Medicaid|All Plans $5.12 ↓ -83%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Other Plans $5.50 ↓ -81%
Humana Commercial|All Plans $5.83 ↓ -80%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $5.83 ↓ -80%
Hill Physicians Commercial|All Plans $5.83 ↓ -80%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $5.83 ↓ -80%
United Medicare|All Plans $5.83 ↓ -80%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|PPO $5.83 ↓ -80%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|HMO $5.83 ↓ -80%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $5.83 ↓ -80%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|Imperial $6.00 ↓ -80%
BrightHealth Commercial|All Plans $6.41 ↓ -78%
United Commercial|HMO $7.00 ↓ -76%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $7.00 ↓ -76%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $7.00 ↓ -76%
Prison Healthcare Medicaid|All Plans $8.74 ↓ -70%
Molina Medicaid|All Plans $8.74 ↓ -70%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|All Plans $8.84 ↓ -70%
California Health & Wellness Medicaid|All Plans $10.79 ↓ -63%
Health Net Medicaid|All Plans $10.79 ↓ -63%
Cigna Commercial|LocalPlus $12.91 ↓ -56%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $17.22 ↓ -41%
Western Health Advantage Commercial|All Plans $47.25 ↑ +61%
Kaiser Medicaid|All Plans $55.35 ↑ +88%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Connection EPO $60.67 ↑ +106%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|ACO Trio CalPers $63.45 ↑ +116%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $67.50 ↑ +129%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $75.81 ↑ +158%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|HMO $91.80 ↑ +212%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $97.20 ↑ +230%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|CalPers $98.55 ↑ +235%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|All Other Plans $98.55 ↑ +235%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $101.25 ↑ +244%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $106.65 ↑ +262%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $108.00 ↑ +267%
Sutter Health Commercial|All Plans $108.00 ↑ +267%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $109.90 ↑ +273%

Visitor-reported prices

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Potassium hydroxide preps at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Methodist Hospital of Sacramento Sacramento $38.88 $4.65 – $112.05
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $114.71 $4.65 – $16.66
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $33.97 $4.65 – $42.14
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $105.06 $4.59 – $17.66
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $5.57 $4.65 – $16.76
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $5.51 $4.65 – $16.76
St. Joseph's Behavioral Health Center Stockton $9.71 $1.70 – $13.60
St. Joseph's Medical Center Stockton Stockton $34.70 $3.15 – $12.30

All California hospitals for this procedure →