MRA aorta thoracic w/wo contrast at French Hospital
1911 Johnson Ave, San Luis Obispo, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1881760452
$1,508.81
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.
$3,849.00
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.
$210.87 with MHS HSPCC vs $2,474.00 with BCBS - Anthem — 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 | $210.87 | ↓ -86% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|All Plans | $329.74 | ↓ -78% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $329.74 | ↓ -78% |
| Molina | Medicaid|< 21 | $329.74 | ↓ -78% |
| Molina | Medicaid|> 21 | $329.74 | ↓ -78% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $329.74 | ↓ -78% |
| CenCal | Medicaid|> 21 | $347.16 | ↓ -77% |
| CenCal | Medicaid|< 21 | $347.16 | ↓ -77% |
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $390.50 | ↓ -74% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|> 21 | $405.58 | ↓ -73% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|< 21 | $405.58 | ↓ -73% |
| Health Net | Commercial|FFS | $437.36 | ↓ -71% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $484.22 | ↓ -68% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $663.85 | ↓ -56% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $663.85 | ↓ -56% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $665.75 | ↓ -56% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $665.75 | ↓ -56% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $665.75 | ↓ -56% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $765.38 | ↓ -49% |
| Aetna | Commercial|Non-Gatekeeper | $781.00 | ↓ -48% |
| Aetna | Commercial|Gatekeeper | $781.00 | ↓ -48% |
| Cigna | Commercial|PPO | $2,111.00 | ↑ +40% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $2,111.00 | ↑ +40% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $2,422.00 | ↑ +61% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Non-MCS | $2,474.00 | ↑ +64% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
MRA aorta thoracic w/wo contrast at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $1,779.16 | $498.86 – $3,168.36 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $1,885.77 | $329.74 – $2,096.00 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $7,310.69 | $329.74 – $1,487.64 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $1,765.96 | $329.74 – $2,413.60 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $1,746.92 | $329.74 – $2,383.43 |
| Queen of The Valley Medical Center | Napa | $6,393.87 | $477.54 – $3,272.23 |
| Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka | Eureka | $4,121.82 | $477.54 – $3,710.73 |
| St. Joseph's Medical Center Stockton | Stockton | $1,130.14 | $216.72 – $4,941.00 |