ER Visit (level 5, high severity) at French Hospital
1911 Johnson Ave, San Luis Obispo, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1881760452
$1,459.03
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.
$3,722.00
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.
$155.03 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 | $155.03 | ↓ -89% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $155.03 | ↓ -89% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $155.03 | ↓ -89% |
| CenCal | Medicaid|> 21 | $155.03 | ↓ -89% |
| Molina | Medicaid|< 21 | $155.03 | ↓ -89% |
| Molina | Medicaid|> 21 | $155.03 | ↓ -89% |
| CenCal | Medicaid|< 21 | $155.03 | ↓ -89% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|< 21 | $190.69 | ↓ -87% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|> 21 | $190.69 | ↓ -87% |
| MHS Hospice | Commercial|All Plans | $589.42 | ↓ -60% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Plans | $779.00 | ↓ -47% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Plans | $779.00 | ↓ -47% |
| Humana | Commercial|All Plans | $779.00 | ↓ -47% |
| Alignment | Medicare|All Plans | $779.00 | ↓ -47% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $779.00 | ↓ -47% |
| Health Net | Medicare|All Plans | $779.00 | ↓ -47% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $779.00 | ↓ -47% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $779.00 | ↓ -47% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $779.00 | ↓ -47% |
| MHS HSPCC | Commercial|All Plans | $934.74 | ↓ -36% |
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $1,904.10 | ↑ +31% |
| Health Net | Commercial|FFS | $1,938.72 | ↑ +33% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $1,973.34 | ↑ +35% |
| Blue Shield CA | Commercial|Exchange | $2,111.82 | ↑ +45% |
| Aetna | Commercial|Gatekeeper | $2,319.54 | ↑ +59% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $2,423.40 | ↑ +66% |
| Cigna | Commercial|PPO | $2,423.40 | ↑ +66% |
| Aetna | Commercial|Non-Gatekeeper | $2,561.88 | ↑ +76% |
| Blue Shield CA | Commercial|FFS | $2,734.98 | ↑ +87% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $2,942.70 | ↑ +102% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $2,942.70 | ↑ +102% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $3,392.76 | ↑ +133% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $7,075.00 | ↑ +385% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $7,527.00 | ↑ +416% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $8,315.00 | ↑ +470% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Non-MCS | $8,832.00 | ↑ +505% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $9,313.00 | ↑ +538% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
ER Visit (level 5, high severity) at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $2,060.79 | $226.60 – $3,279.18 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $3,441.94 | $122.62 – $2,525.88 |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital | Petaluma | $4,458.42 | $802.54 – $818.92 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $1,593.02 | $155.03 – $3,316.32 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $1,886.78 | $138.93 – $526.26 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $2,521.69 | $155.03 – $5,573.54 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $2,494.50 | $155.03 – $5,573.54 |
| Queen of The Valley Medical Center | Napa | $5,500.35 | $845.57 – $845.57 |