Brain MRI (with and without contrast) at French Hospital
1911 Johnson Ave, San Luis Obispo, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1881760452
$3,689.90
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.
$9,413.00
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.
$446.12 with MHS Hospice vs $2,474.00 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MHS Hospice | Commercial|All Plans | $446.12 | ↓ -88% |
| Molina | Medicaid|> 21 | $446.18 | ↓ -88% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $446.18 | ↓ -88% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $446.18 | ↓ -88% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|All Plans | $446.18 | ↓ -88% |
| Molina | Medicaid|< 21 | $446.18 | ↓ -88% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -88% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -88% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -88% |
| Health Net | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -88% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -88% |
| Humana | Commercial|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -88% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -88% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -88% |
| Alignment | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -88% |
| MHS HSPCC | Commercial|All Plans | $455.22 | ↓ -88% |
| CenCal | Medicaid|> 21 | $467.23 | ↓ -87% |
| CenCal | Medicaid|< 21 | $467.23 | ↓ -87% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|> 21 | $548.80 | ↓ -85% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|< 21 | $548.80 | ↓ -85% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $828.27 | ↓ -78% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $828.27 | ↓ -78% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $828.27 | ↓ -78% |
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $843.00 | ↓ -77% |
| Health Net | Commercial|FFS | $944.16 | ↓ -74% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $1,045.32 | ↓ -72% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $1,433.10 | ↓ -61% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $1,433.10 | ↓ -61% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $1,652.28 | ↓ -55% |
| Aetna | Commercial|Non-Gatekeeper | $1,686.00 | ↓ -54% |
| Aetna | Commercial|Gatekeeper | $1,686.00 | ↓ -54% |
| Cigna | Commercial|PPO | $2,111.00 | ↓ -43% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $2,111.00 | ↓ -43% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $2,422.00 | ↓ -34% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Non-MCS | $2,474.00 | ↓ -33% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Brain MRI (with and without contrast) at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $3,699.79 | $453.77 – $6,588.66 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $3,376.73 | $71.43 – $5,657.04 |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital | Petaluma | $4,780.23 | $470.15 – $5,091.33 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $4,627.11 | $446.18 – $8,437.80 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $9,499.16 | $446.18 – $3,578.96 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $3,668.82 | $446.18 – $7,911.20 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $3,629.27 | $446.18 – $7,812.31 |
| Queen of The Valley Medical Center | Napa | $7,893.27 | $495.35 – $6,434.17 |