Placement nephrostomy catheter (both sides) at French Hospital
1911 Johnson Ave, San Luis Obispo, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1881760452
$4,913.72
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.
$12,535.00
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.
$773.64 with BCBS - Anthem vs $9,926.42 with MultiPlan — 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 | $773.64 | ↓ -84% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $773.64 | ↓ -84% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $773.64 | ↓ -84% |
| CenCal | Medicaid|> 21 | $773.64 | ↓ -84% |
| CenCal | Medicaid|< 21 | $773.64 | ↓ -84% |
| Molina | Medicaid|< 21 | $773.64 | ↓ -84% |
| Molina | Medicaid|> 21 | $773.64 | ↓ -84% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|> 21 | $951.58 | ↓ -81% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|< 21 | $951.58 | ↓ -81% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $2,602.84 | ↓ -47% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $2,602.84 | ↓ -47% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Plans | $2,602.84 | ↓ -47% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $2,602.84 | ↓ -47% |
| Humana | Commercial|All Plans | $2,602.84 | ↓ -47% |
| Health Net | Medicare|All Plans | $2,602.84 | ↓ -47% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $2,602.84 | ↓ -47% |
| Alignment | Medicare|All Plans | $2,602.84 | ↓ -47% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Plans | $2,602.84 | ↓ -47% |
| MHS HSPCC | Commercial|All Plans | $2,734.83 | ↓ -44% |
| Blue Shield CA | Commercial|Exchange | $4,152.00 | ↓ -16% |
| Aetna | Commercial|Gatekeeper | $4,567.00 | ↓ -7% |
| Aetna | Commercial|Non-Gatekeeper | $4,906.00 | ↓ -0% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $5,243.00 | ↑ +7% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Non-MCS | $5,432.00 | ↑ +11% |
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $5,570.95 | ↑ +13% |
| Health Net | Commercial|FFS | $5,672.24 | ↑ +15% |
| Blue Shield CA | Commercial|FFS | $6,120.00 | ↑ +25% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $6,279.98 | ↑ +28% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $8,609.65 | ↑ +75% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $8,609.65 | ↑ +75% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $9,318.68 | ↑ +90% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $9,926.42 | ↑ +102% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Placement nephrostomy catheter (both sides) at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $2,691.95 | $1,170.44 – $4,793.88 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $5,419.34 | $773.64 – $9,926.42 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $3,847.27 | $773.64 – $2,350.00 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $3,805.79 | $773.64 – $2,350.00 |
| Queen of The Valley Medical Center | Napa | $2,734.11 | $2,968.05 – $10,593.00 |
| Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka | Eureka | $2,172.09 | $2,688.58 – $10,413.00 |
| St. Joseph's Medical Center Stockton | Stockton | $5,344.63 | $773.64 – $5,090.40 |
| Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital | Santa Rosa | $3,618.96 | $2,238.00 – $6,732.00 |