ER Visit (level 2) 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

$467.27

Cash price

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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.

$1,192.00

Gross charge

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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.

$34.97 with BCBS - Anthem vs $2,708.00 with United — 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 →

Payer
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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
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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 $34.97 ↓ -93%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|> 21 $34.97 ↓ -93%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|< 21 $34.97 ↓ -93%
CenCal Medicaid|> 21 $34.97 ↓ -93%
Molina Medicaid|< 21 $34.97 ↓ -93%
Molina Medicaid|> 21 $34.97 ↓ -93%
CenCal Medicaid|< 21 $34.97 ↓ -93%
Health Net Medicaid|< 21 $43.01 ↓ -91%
Health Net Medicaid|> 21 $43.01 ↓ -91%
MHS Hospice Commercial|All Plans $149.50 ↓ -68%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $201.21 ↓ -57%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $201.21 ↓ -57%
Humana Commercial|All Plans $201.21 ↓ -57%
Alignment Medicare|All Plans $201.21 ↓ -57%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $201.21 ↓ -57%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $201.21 ↓ -57%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $201.21 ↓ -57%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $201.21 ↓ -57%
United Medicare|All Plans $201.21 ↓ -57%
MHS HSPCC Commercial|All Plans $321.84 ↓ -31%
Western Growers Commercial|All Plans $655.60 ↑ +40%
Health Net Commercial|FFS $667.52 ↑ +43%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $679.44 ↑ +45%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $727.12 ↑ +56%
Aetna Commercial|Gatekeeper $798.64 ↑ +71%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $834.40 ↑ +79%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $834.40 ↑ +79%
Aetna Commercial|Non-Gatekeeper $882.08 ↑ +89%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|FFS $941.68 ↑ +102%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $1,013.20 ↑ +117%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $1,013.20 ↑ +117%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $1,168.16 ↑ +150%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $1,567.00 ↑ +235%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Non-MCS $1,697.00 ↑ +263%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $2,189.00 ↑ +368%
United Commercial|HMO $2,264.00 ↑ +385%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $2,708.00 ↑ +480%

Visitor-reported prices

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ER Visit (level 2) at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $556.26 $52.90 – $887.24
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $502.82 $31.67 – $606.25
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $1,094.46 $206.92 – $211.14
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $510.18 $34.97 – $1,060.36
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $458.88 $31.57 – $119.56
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $554.65 $34.97 – $1,225.90
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $548.67 $34.97 – $1,225.90
Queen of The Valley Medical Center Napa $1,112.31 $218.01 – $218.01

All California hospitals for this procedure →