2nd order venous cath at French Hospital

1911 Johnson Ave, San Luis Obispo, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1881760452

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

$1,094.86

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.

$2,793.00

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.

$130.30 with Molina vs $5,432.00 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 →

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
Molina Medicaid|< 21 $130.30 ↓ -88%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|> 21 $130.30 ↓ -88%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|< 21 $130.30 ↓ -88%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|All Plans $130.30 ↓ -88%
Molina Medicaid|> 21 $130.30 ↓ -88%
Health Net Medicaid|< 21 $160.27 ↓ -85%
Health Net Medicaid|> 21 $160.27 ↓ -85%
CenCal Medicaid|> 21 $205.41 ↓ -81%
CenCal Medicaid|< 21 $205.41 ↓ -81%
MHS HSPCC Commercial|All Plans $377.19 ↓ -66%
Western Growers Commercial|All Plans $768.35 ↓ -30%
Health Net Commercial|FFS $782.32 ↓ -29%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $866.14 ↓ -21%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $1,187.45 ↑ +8%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $1,187.45 ↑ +8%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $1,285.24 ↑ +17%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $1,369.06 ↑ +25%
Aetna Commercial|Gatekeeper $4,063.00 ↑ +271%
Aetna Commercial|Non-Gatekeeper $4,363.00 ↑ +298%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $5,243.00 ↑ +379%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Non-MCS $5,432.00 ↑ +396%

Visitor-reported prices

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2nd order venous cath at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $725.77 $160.27 – $1,292.46
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $1,195.41 $130.30 – $1,369.06
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $1,446.53 $130.30 – $2,313.11
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $1,430.94 $130.30 – $2,573.01
Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka Eureka $1,964.52 $2,699.00 – $21,319.00
St. Joseph's Medical Center Stockton Stockton $2,715.39 $130.30 – $3,335.64
Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital Santa Rosa $1,710.03 $1,716.00 – $12,908.00
Providence Mission Hospital - Mission Viejo Mission Viejo $907.68 $1,200.00 – $5,357.00

All California hospitals for this procedure →