Neck MRA (blood vessel MRI, with contrast) at French Hospital
1911 Johnson Ave, San Luis Obispo, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1881760452
$1,752.24
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.
$4,470.00
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.
$240.58 with Molina 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Molina | Medicaid|< 21 | $240.58 | ↓ -86% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $240.58 | ↓ -86% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|All Plans | $240.58 | ↓ -86% |
| Molina | Medicaid|> 21 | $240.58 | ↓ -86% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $240.58 | ↓ -86% |
| CenCal | Medicaid|> 21 | $248.64 | ↓ -86% |
| CenCal | Medicaid|< 21 | $248.64 | ↓ -86% |
| MHS HSPCC | Commercial|All Plans | $285.12 | ↓ -84% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|> 21 | $295.91 | ↓ -83% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|< 21 | $295.91 | ↓ -83% |
| MHS Hospice | Commercial|All Plans | $446.12 | ↓ -75% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -74% |
| Alignment | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -74% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -74% |
| Humana | Commercial|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -74% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -74% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -74% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -74% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -74% |
| Health Net | Medicare|All Plans | $453.77 | ↓ -74% |
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $528.00 | ↓ -70% |
| Health Net | Commercial|FFS | $591.36 | ↓ -66% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $654.72 | ↓ -63% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $828.27 | ↓ -53% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $828.27 | ↓ -53% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $828.27 | ↓ -53% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $897.60 | ↓ -49% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $897.60 | ↓ -49% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $1,034.88 | ↓ -41% |
| Aetna | Commercial|Non-Gatekeeper | $1,056.00 | ↓ -40% |
| Aetna | Commercial|Gatekeeper | $1,056.00 | ↓ -40% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $2,111.00 | ↑ +20% |
| Cigna | Commercial|PPO | $2,111.00 | ↑ +20% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $2,422.00 | ↑ +38% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Non-MCS | $2,474.00 | ↑ +41% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Neck MRA (blood vessel MRI, with contrast) at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $2,309.58 | $363.97 – $4,112.94 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $1,172.88 | $71.43 – $4,213.68 |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital | Petaluma | $7,380.72 | $470.15 – $2,658.71 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $2,191.36 | $240.58 – $4,180.68 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $9,216.78 | $240.58 – $3,529.96 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $2,820.35 | $240.58 – $6,081.60 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $2,789.94 | $240.58 – $6,005.58 |
| Queen of The Valley Medical Center | Napa | $4,360.50 | $495.35 – $3,359.95 |