Echo guide for artery repair 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

$340.65

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.

$869.00

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.

$234.63 with MHS HSPCC vs $1,462.63 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 $234.63 ↓ -31%
MHS Hospice Commercial|All Plans $295.70 ↓ -13%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $395.66 ↑ +16%
Humana Commercial|All Plans $395.66 ↑ +16%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $395.66 ↑ +16%
United Medicare|All Plans $395.66 ↑ +16%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $395.66 ↑ +16%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $395.66 ↑ +16%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $395.66 ↑ +16%
Alignment Medicare|All Plans $395.66 ↑ +16%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $395.66 ↑ +16%
Western Growers Commercial|All Plans $434.50 ↑ +28%
Health Net Commercial|FFS $486.64 ↑ +43%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $538.78 ↑ +58%
Aetna Commercial|Gatekeeper $565.82 ↑ +66%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $595.01 ↑ +75%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $595.01 ↑ +75%
United Commercial|HMO $595.01 ↑ +75%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $738.65 ↑ +117%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $738.65 ↑ +117%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Non-MCS $816.86 ↑ +140%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $834.24 ↑ +145%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $851.62 ↑ +150%
Aetna Commercial|Non-Gatekeeper $869.00 ↑ +155%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $1,462.63 ↑ +329%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $1,462.63 ↑ +329%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Echo guide for artery repair at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $3,168.83 $365.29 – $1,383.76
Queen of The Valley Medical Center Napa $2,981.46 $306.58 – $1,060.39
Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka Eureka $2,314.38 $277.71 – $1,202.49
Redwood Memorial Hospital Fortuna $1,128.12 $1,205.30 – $1,205.30
Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital Santa Rosa $698.70 $300.45 – $902.14
Providence Mission Hospital - Mission Viejo Mission Viejo $614.88 $236.06 – $513.77
Dominican Hospital Santa Cruz $1,638.90 $427.82 – $4,323.87
Northridge Hospital Medical Center Northridge $578.93 $306.00 – $2,075.00

All California hospitals for this procedure →