ER Visit (level 4) at French Hospital
1911 Johnson Ave, San Luis Obispo, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1881760452
$992.55
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.
$2,532.00
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.
$98.04 with BCBS - Anthem vs $9,313.00 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 →
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|All Plans | $98.04 | ↓ -90% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $98.04 | ↓ -90% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $98.04 | ↓ -90% |
| CenCal | Medicaid|> 21 | $98.04 | ↓ -90% |
| Molina | Medicaid|< 21 | $98.04 | ↓ -90% |
| Molina | Medicaid|> 21 | $98.04 | ↓ -90% |
| CenCal | Medicaid|< 21 | $98.04 | ↓ -90% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|< 21 | $120.59 | ↓ -88% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|> 21 | $120.59 | ↓ -88% |
| MHS Hospice | Commercial|All Plans | $411.00 | ↓ -59% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Plans | $541.05 | ↓ -45% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Plans | $541.05 | ↓ -45% |
| Humana | Commercial|All Plans | $541.05 | ↓ -45% |
| Alignment | Medicare|All Plans | $541.05 | ↓ -45% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $541.05 | ↓ -45% |
| Health Net | Medicare|All Plans | $541.05 | ↓ -45% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $541.05 | ↓ -45% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $541.05 | ↓ -45% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $541.05 | ↓ -45% |
| MHS HSPCC | Commercial|All Plans | $633.42 | ↓ -36% |
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $1,290.30 | ↑ +30% |
| Health Net | Commercial|FFS | $1,313.76 | ↑ +32% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $1,337.22 | ↑ +35% |
| Blue Shield CA | Commercial|Exchange | $1,431.06 | ↑ +44% |
| Aetna | Commercial|Gatekeeper | $1,571.82 | ↑ +58% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $1,642.20 | ↑ +65% |
| Cigna | Commercial|PPO | $1,642.20 | ↑ +65% |
| Aetna | Commercial|Non-Gatekeeper | $1,736.04 | ↑ +75% |
| Blue Shield CA | Commercial|FFS | $1,853.34 | ↑ +87% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $1,994.10 | ↑ +101% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $1,994.10 | ↑ +101% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $2,299.08 | ↑ +132% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $6,398.00 | ↑ +545% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Non-MCS | $6,795.00 | ↑ +585% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $7,075.00 | ↑ +613% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $7,527.00 | ↑ +658% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $9,313.00 | ↑ +838% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
ER Visit (level 4) at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $1,112.96 | $148.33 – $1,735.94 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $2,826.36 | $85.16 – $1,742.12 |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital | Petaluma | $3,274.71 | $562.31 – $573.78 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $1,131.21 | $98.04 – $2,255.96 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $1,310.03 | $92.10 – $348.88 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $1,184.98 | $98.04 – $2,619.08 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $1,172.20 | $98.04 – $2,619.08 |
| Queen of The Valley Medical Center | Napa | $3,861.72 | $592.45 – $592.45 |