Thoracentesis pleural space needle/catheter aspiration with imaging guidance (both sides) at Mercy General Hospital
4001 J St., Sacramento, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1487694857
$917.78
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.
$4,210.00
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.
$105.95 with United vs $6,582.00 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 →
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| United | Medicaid|< 21 | $105.95 | ↓ -88% |
| United | Medicaid|> 21 | $105.95 | ↓ -88% |
| Hill Physicians | Commercial|All Plans | $107.02 | ↓ -88% |
| Hill Physicians | Medicaid|All Plans | $128.08 | ↓ -86% |
| Molina | Medicaid|All Plans | $173.58 | ↓ -81% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|All Plans | $175.43 | ↓ -81% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|All Plans | $270.14 | ↓ -71% |
| California Health & Wellness | Medicaid|All Plans | $270.14 | ↓ -71% |
| Hill Physicians | Medicare|All Plans | $355.04 | ↓ -61% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|All Plans | $397.02 | ↓ -57% |
| Western Health Advantage | Commercial|All Plans | $692.65 | ↓ -25% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Other Plans | $766.15 | ↓ -17% |
| Kaiser | Medicaid|All Plans | $811.39 | ↓ -12% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|HMO | $812.46 | ↓ -11% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $812.46 | ↓ -11% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $812.46 | ↓ -11% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|PPO | $812.46 | ↓ -11% |
| Molina | Medicare|All Plans | $812.46 | ↓ -11% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $812.46 | ↓ -11% |
| Humana | Commercial|All Plans | $812.46 | ↓ -11% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|Imperial | $836.83 | ↓ -9% |
| BrightHealth | Commercial|All Plans | $893.71 | ↓ -3% |
| Prison Healthcare | Medicaid|All Plans | $1,218.69 | ↑ +33% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $1,424.88 | ↑ +55% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $1,484.25 | ↑ +62% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $1,563.41 | ↑ +70% |
| Sutter Health | Commercial|All Plans | $1,583.20 | ↑ +73% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $1,583.20 | ↑ +73% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $1,979.00 | ↑ +116% |
| Health Net | Commercial|EPPO | $3,312.00 | ↑ +261% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Connection EPO | $3,631.00 | ↑ +296% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|All Other Plans | $4,539.00 | ↑ +395% |
| Aetna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $5,002.00 | ↑ +445% |
| Aetna | Commercial|HMO | $5,002.00 | ↑ +445% |
| Aetna | Commercial|PPO | $5,002.00 | ↑ +445% |
| Health Net | Commercial|FFS | $6,108.00 | ↑ +566% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $6,582.00 | ↑ +617% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Thoracentesis pleural space needle/catheter aspiration with imaging guidance (both sides) at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Methodist Hospital of Sacramento | Sacramento | $1,212.48 | $105.95 – $1,642.57 |
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $734.53 | $130.32 – $1,452.04 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $1,090.98 | $152.34 – $1,351.21 |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital | Petaluma | $2,134.86 | $845.36 – $2,695.00 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $2,178.52 | $105.95 – $2,878.26 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $3,367.30 | $68.82 – $260.68 |
| French Hospital | San Luis Obispo | $1,918.84 | $105.95 – $1,774.78 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $1,548.19 | $105.95 – $1,569.60 |