Electron microscopy diagnostic at French Hospital
1911 Johnson Ave, San Luis Obispo, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1881760452
$576.40
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.
$1,470.40
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.
$11.34 with MHS HSPCC vs $1,168.77 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MHS HSPCC | Commercial|All Plans | $11.34 | ↓ -98% |
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $21.00 | ↓ -96% |
| Health Net | Commercial|FFS | $23.52 | ↓ -96% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $26.04 | ↓ -95% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $35.70 | ↓ -94% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $35.70 | ↓ -94% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Non-MCS | $39.48 | ↓ -93% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $40.32 | ↓ -93% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $41.16 | ↓ -93% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $42.00 | ↓ -93% |
| Health Net | Medicare|All Plans | $42.00 | ↓ -93% |
| Humana | Commercial|All Plans | $42.00 | ↓ -93% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $42.00 | ↓ -93% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $42.00 | ↓ -93% |
| Aetna | Commercial|Gatekeeper | $42.00 | ↓ -93% |
| Aetna | Commercial|Non-Gatekeeper | $42.00 | ↓ -93% |
| Molina | Medicaid|< 21 | $42.00 | ↓ -93% |
| Molina | Medicaid|> 21 | $42.00 | ↓ -93% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $42.00 | ↓ -93% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $42.00 | ↓ -93% |
| Alignment | Medicare|All Plans | $42.00 | ↓ -93% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Plans | $42.00 | ↓ -93% |
| CenCal | Medicaid|< 21 | $42.00 | ↓ -93% |
| CenCal | Medicaid|> 21 | $42.00 | ↓ -93% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $42.00 | ↓ -93% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $42.00 | ↓ -93% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $42.00 | ↓ -93% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|All Plans | $42.00 | ↓ -93% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Plans | $42.00 | ↓ -93% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|< 21 | $51.66 | ↓ -91% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|> 21 | $51.66 | ↓ -91% |
| MHS Hospice | Commercial|All Plans | $733.93 | ↑ +27% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $1,037.95 | ↑ +80% |
| Cigna | Commercial|PPO | $1,168.77 | ↑ +103% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $1,168.77 | ↑ +103% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Electron microscopy diagnostic at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $83.66 | $51.57 – $1,023.81 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $295.40 | $163.38 – $679.00 |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital | Petaluma | $1,200.54 | $271.27 – $1,256.40 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $629.34 | $21.00 – $994.21 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $458.21 | $177.99 – $674.24 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $204.05 | $260.50 – $1,108.83 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $201.85 | $260.50 – $1,108.83 |
| Queen of The Valley Medical Center | Napa | $558.96 | $342.82 – $1,256.40 |