Assay of feces porphyrins 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

$42.42

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.

Full explanation →

What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$108.20

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.

Full explanation →

The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$29.22 with MHS HSPCC vs $118.46 with Cigna — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
?

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
MHS HSPCC Commercial|All Plans $29.22 ↓ -31%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $39.11 ↓ -8%
Humana Commercial|All Plans $39.11 ↓ -8%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $39.11 ↓ -8%
United Medicare|All Plans $39.11 ↓ -8%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $39.11 ↓ -8%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $39.11 ↓ -8%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $39.11 ↓ -8%
Alignment Medicare|All Plans $39.11 ↓ -8%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $39.11 ↓ -8%
MHS Hospice Commercial|All Plans $39.11 ↓ -8%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|> 21 $39.78 ↓ -6%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|< 21 $39.78 ↓ -6%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|All Plans $39.78 ↓ -6%
CenCal Medicaid|> 21 $39.78 ↓ -6%
CenCal Medicaid|< 21 $39.78 ↓ -6%
Molina Medicaid|> 21 $39.78 ↓ -6%
Molina Medicaid|< 21 $39.78 ↓ -6%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $46.93 ↑ +11%
United Commercial|HMO $46.93 ↑ +11%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $46.93 ↑ +11%
Health Net Medicaid|< 21 $48.93 ↑ +15%
Health Net Medicaid|> 21 $48.93 ↑ +15%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $51.94 ↑ +22%
Western Growers Commercial|All Plans $54.10 ↑ +28%
Health Net Commercial|FFS $60.60 ↑ +43%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $67.09 ↑ +58%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|FFS $73.58 ↑ +73%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $91.97 ↑ +117%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $91.97 ↑ +117%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Non-MCS $101.71 ↑ +140%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $103.88 ↑ +145%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $106.04 ↑ +150%
Aetna Commercial|Non-Gatekeeper $108.20 ↑ +155%
Aetna Commercial|Gatekeeper $108.20 ↑ +155%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $118.46 ↑ +179%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $118.46 ↑ +179%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Assay of feces porphyrins at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $46.31 $39.11 – $106.04
Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital Grass Valley $15.12 $18.58 – $27.73
Mercy Hospital of Folsom Folsom $10.79 $3.06 – $86.61
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma not published $38.33 – $207.96
Queen of The Valley Medical Center Napa not published $39.11 – $262.81
Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka Eureka not published $39.11 – $298.02
Healdsburg Hospital Healdsburg not published $39.11 – $118.89
Redwood Memorial Hospital Fortuna not published $298.72 – $298.72

All California hospitals for this procedure →