Cath lt/rt pulm art 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

$1,134.06

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.

$2,893.00

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.

Full explanation →

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

$111.50 with BCBS - Anthem vs $5,432.00 with BCBS - Anthem — 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
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|All Plans $111.50 ↓ -90%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|> 21 $111.50 ↓ -90%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|< 21 $111.50 ↓ -90%
Molina Medicaid|< 21 $111.50 ↓ -90%
Molina Medicaid|> 21 $111.50 ↓ -90%
Health Net Medicaid|< 21 $137.15 ↓ -88%
Health Net Medicaid|> 21 $137.15 ↓ -88%
MHS HSPCC Commercial|All Plans $169.29 ↓ -85%
CenCal Medicaid|> 21 $175.77 ↓ -85%
CenCal Medicaid|< 21 $175.77 ↓ -85%
Western Growers Commercial|All Plans $344.85 ↓ -70%
Health Net Commercial|FFS $351.12 ↓ -69%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $388.74 ↓ -66%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $532.95 ↓ -53%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $532.95 ↓ -53%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $576.84 ↓ -49%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $614.46 ↓ -46%
Aetna Commercial|Gatekeeper $4,063.00 ↑ +258%
Aetna Commercial|Non-Gatekeeper $4,363.00 ↑ +285%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $5,243.00 ↑ +362%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Non-MCS $5,432.00 ↑ +379%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Cath lt/rt pulm art at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $620.21 $137.15 – $1,104.48
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $1,238.21 $111.50 – $634.06
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $1,097.05 $111.50 – $1,815.60
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $1,085.22 $111.50 – $2,019.60
Queen of The Valley Medical Center Napa $1,341.30 $2,747.00 – $8,621.00
Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka Eureka $1,341.30 $2,699.00 – $21,319.00
St. Joseph's Medical Center Stockton Stockton $2,222.64 $0.80 – $1,138.20
Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital Santa Rosa $705.84 $1,716.00 – $12,908.00

All California hospitals for this procedure →