Contrast exam thoracic aorta at French Hospital
1911 Johnson Ave, San Luis Obispo, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1881760452
$4,361.00
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.
$11,125.00
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.
$255.55 with Molina vs $15,820.61 with Cigna — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Molina | Medicaid|> 21 | $255.55 | ↓ -94% |
| Molina | Medicaid|< 21 | $255.55 | ↓ -94% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $255.55 | ↓ -94% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|All Plans | $255.55 | ↓ -94% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $255.55 | ↓ -94% |
| CenCal | Medicaid|> 21 | $260.72 | ↓ -94% |
| CenCal | Medicaid|< 21 | $260.72 | ↓ -94% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|< 21 | $314.33 | ↓ -93% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|> 21 | $314.33 | ↓ -93% |
| Aetna | Commercial|Gatekeeper | $1,303.86 | ↓ -70% |
| Aetna | Commercial|Non-Gatekeeper | $2,548.85 | ↓ -42% |
| MHS HSPCC | Commercial|All Plans | $3,003.75 | ↓ -31% |
| MHS Hospice | Commercial|All Plans | $3,237.69 | ↓ -26% |
| Health Net | Medicare|All Plans | $3,999.21 | ↓ -8% |
| Humana | Commercial|All Plans | $3,999.21 | ↓ -8% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $3,999.21 | ↓ -8% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $3,999.21 | ↓ -8% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Plans | $3,999.21 | ↓ -8% |
| Alignment | Medicare|All Plans | $3,999.21 | ↓ -8% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Plans | $3,999.21 | ↓ -8% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $3,999.21 | ↓ -8% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $3,999.21 | ↓ -8% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $5,215.58 | ↑ +20% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Non-MCS | $5,328.03 | ↑ +22% |
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $5,562.50 | ↑ +28% |
| Health Net | Commercial|FFS | $6,230.00 | ↑ +43% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $6,438.74 | ↑ +48% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $6,438.74 | ↑ +48% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $6,438.74 | ↑ +48% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $6,897.50 | ↑ +58% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $9,456.25 | ↑ +117% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $9,456.25 | ↑ +117% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $10,902.50 | ↑ +150% |
| Cigna | Commercial|PPO | $15,820.61 | ↑ +263% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $15,820.61 | ↑ +263% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Contrast exam thoracic aorta at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $4,761.50 | $255.55 – $13,457.70 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $2,875.63 | $255.55 – $15,009.21 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $2,844.62 | $255.55 – $15,009.21 |
| Queen of The Valley Medical Center | Napa | $4,627.74 | $1,989.67 – $4,434.05 |
| Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka | Eureka | $6,941.61 | $4,061.05 – $4,434.05 |
| St. Joseph's Medical Center Stockton | Stockton | $2,881.79 | $255.55 – $4,902.00 |
| Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital | Santa Rosa | $4,627.74 | $1,721.34 – $4,434.05 |
| Providence Mission Hospital - Mission Viejo | Mission Viejo | $2,753.76 | $1,403.19 – $7,512.94 |