Assay of sialic acid at French Hospital
1911 Johnson Ave, San Luis Obispo, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1881760452
$46.46
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.
$118.50
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.
$13.44 with Kaiser vs $118.50 with Aetna — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $13.44 | ↓ -71% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $13.44 | ↓ -71% |
| Humana | Commercial|All Plans | $13.44 | ↓ -71% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $13.44 | ↓ -71% |
| MHS Hospice | Commercial|All Plans | $13.44 | ↓ -71% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $13.44 | ↓ -71% |
| Health Net | Medicare|All Plans | $13.44 | ↓ -71% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Plans | $13.44 | ↓ -71% |
| Alignment | Medicare|All Plans | $13.44 | ↓ -71% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Plans | $13.44 | ↓ -71% |
| CenCal | Medicaid|> 21 | $15.42 | ↓ -67% |
| CenCal | Medicaid|< 21 | $15.42 | ↓ -67% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $16.13 | ↓ -65% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $16.13 | ↓ -65% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $16.13 | ↓ -65% |
| Molina | Medicaid|< 21 | $17.13 | ↓ -63% |
| Molina | Medicaid|> 21 | $17.13 | ↓ -63% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $17.13 | ↓ -63% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $17.13 | ↓ -63% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|All Plans | $17.13 | ↓ -63% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|< 21 | $21.07 | ↓ -55% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|> 21 | $21.07 | ↓ -55% |
| MHS HSPCC | Commercial|All Plans | $32.00 | ↓ -31% |
| Cigna | Commercial|PPO | $40.73 | ↓ -12% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $40.73 | ↓ -12% |
| Blue Shield CA | Commercial|Exchange | $56.88 | ↑ +22% |
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $59.25 | ↑ +28% |
| Health Net | Commercial|FFS | $66.36 | ↑ +43% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $73.47 | ↑ +58% |
| Blue Shield CA | Commercial|FFS | $80.58 | ↑ +73% |
| Aetna | Commercial|Gatekeeper | $90.97 | ↑ +96% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $100.73 | ↑ +117% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $100.73 | ↑ +117% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Non-MCS | $111.39 | ↑ +140% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $113.76 | ↑ +145% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $116.13 | ↑ +150% |
| Aetna | Commercial|Non-Gatekeeper | $118.50 | ↑ +155% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Assay of sialic acid at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $50.72 | $13.44 – $116.13 |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital | Petaluma | not published | $13.17 – $109.58 |
| Queen of The Valley Medical Center | Napa | not published | $13.44 – $138.49 |
| Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka | Eureka | not published | $13.44 – $157.05 |
| Healdsburg Hospital | Healdsburg | not published | $13.44 – $62.65 |
| Redwood Memorial Hospital | Fortuna | not published | $157.41 – $157.41 |
| Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital | Santa Rosa | not published | $13.17 – $117.82 |
| Providence Mission Hospital - Mission Viejo | Mission Viejo | not published | $10.70 – $26.88 |