Myelography l-s spine at French Hospital
1911 Johnson Ave, San Luis Obispo, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1881760452
$730.30
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.
$1,863.00
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.
$117.59 with Molina vs $3,953.87 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Molina | Medicaid|< 21 | $117.59 | ↓ -84% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $117.59 | ↓ -84% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $117.59 | ↓ -84% |
| CenCal | Medicaid|> 21 | $117.59 | ↓ -84% |
| CenCal | Medicaid|< 21 | $117.59 | ↓ -84% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|All Plans | $117.59 | ↓ -84% |
| Molina | Medicaid|> 21 | $117.59 | ↓ -84% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|< 21 | $144.64 | ↓ -80% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|> 21 | $144.64 | ↓ -80% |
| MHS HSPCC | Commercial|All Plans | $503.01 | ↓ -31% |
| Aetna | Commercial|Gatekeeper | $515.29 | ↓ -29% |
| MHS Hospice | Commercial|All Plans | $795.40 | ↑ +9% |
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $931.50 | ↑ +28% |
| Humana | Commercial|All Plans | $1,003.85 | ↑ +37% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $1,003.85 | ↑ +37% |
| Health Net | Medicare|All Plans | $1,003.85 | ↑ +37% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $1,003.85 | ↑ +37% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Plans | $1,003.85 | ↑ +37% |
| Alignment | Medicare|All Plans | $1,003.85 | ↑ +37% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Plans | $1,003.85 | ↑ +37% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $1,003.85 | ↑ +37% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $1,003.85 | ↑ +37% |
| Aetna | Commercial|Non-Gatekeeper | $1,007.30 | ↑ +38% |
| Health Net | Commercial|FFS | $1,043.28 | ↑ +43% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $1,155.06 | ↑ +58% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $1,583.55 | ↑ +117% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $1,583.55 | ↑ +117% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $1,609.16 | ↑ +120% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $1,609.16 | ↑ +120% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $1,609.16 | ↑ +120% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $1,678.59 | ↑ +130% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Non-MCS | $1,714.78 | ↑ +135% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $1,825.74 | ↑ +150% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $3,953.87 | ↑ +441% |
| Cigna | Commercial|PPO | $3,953.87 | ↑ +441% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Myelography l-s spine at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $927.25 | $177.91 – $3,463.45 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $1,433.36 | $135.27 – $2,119.45 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $2,938.65 | $117.59 – $6,728.68 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $1,634.37 | $117.59 – $604.66 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $1,362.69 | $117.59 – $3,751.09 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $1,348.00 | $117.59 – $3,751.09 |
| Queen of The Valley Medical Center | Napa | $5,151.51 | $785.94 – $1,196.94 |
| St. Joseph's Medical Center Stockton | Stockton | $1,331.53 | $117.59 – $1,036.00 |