Fern test at Community Hospital San Bernardino

1805 Medical Center Dr, San Bernardino, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1235290818

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Feb 28, 2026 · Ingested Sep 10, 2026

$55.92

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.

$143.00

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.

$7.40 with Blue Shield CA vs $143.00 with SBMG — 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
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $7.40 ↓ -87%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $9.74 ↓ -83%
Redlands Medicare|All Plans $9.74 ↓ -83%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $9.74 ↓ -83%
United Medicare|All Plans $9.74 ↓ -83%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $9.74 ↓ -83%
Central Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $9.74 ↓ -83%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $9.74 ↓ -83%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Other Plans $9.74 ↓ -83%
Scan Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $9.74 ↓ -83%
Inland Empire Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $9.74 ↓ -83%
Epic Health Medicare|All Plans $9.74 ↓ -83%
Patton Medicare|All Plans $9.74 ↓ -83%
Ballards Rehab Commercial|All Plans $10.71 ↓ -81%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $11.69 ↓ -79%
United Commercial|HMO $11.69 ↓ -79%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|All Other Plans $12.58 ↓ -78%
Epic Health Commercial|All Plans $16.56 ↓ -70%
Naphcare Commercial|All Plans $18.99 ↓ -66%
HPN Medicare|Senior $20.35 ↓ -64%
HPN Commercial|All Plans $21.46 ↓ -62%
Magellan Commercial|All Plans $22.20 ↓ -60%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $22.94 ↓ -59%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $25.90 ↓ -54%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $27.01 ↓ -52%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|BlueShield Promise $27.75 ↓ -50%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $27.93 ↓ -50%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $27.93 ↓ -50%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $29.60 ↓ -47%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $33.67 ↓ -40%
Redlands Commercial|All Plans $37.00 ↓ -34%
SBMG Commercial|All Plans $143.00 ↑ +156%

Visitor-reported prices

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Fern test at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. Bernardine Medical Center San Bernardino $20.65 $8.06 – $27.93
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $41.32 $1.95 – $64.02
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $47.86 $9.74 – $86.40
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $47.35 $9.74 – $85.32
St. Joseph's Behavioral Health Center Stockton $65.67 $9.74 – $92.00
St. Joseph's Medical Center Stockton Stockton $76.74 $8.28 – $214.02
Mercy Medical Center Merced Merced $67.98 $9.74 – $124.08
Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital Grass Valley $70.85 $9.74 – $124.46

All California hospitals for this procedure →