Removal of spinal shunt at French Hospital
1911 Johnson Ave, San Luis Obispo, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1881760452
$2,000.38
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.
$5,103.00
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.
$427.22 with Partnership Health Plan vs $8,190.00 with Blue Shield CA — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $427.22 | ↓ -79% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|All Plans | $427.22 | ↓ -79% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $427.22 | ↓ -79% |
| Molina | Medicaid|< 21 | $427.22 | ↓ -79% |
| Molina | Medicaid|> 21 | $427.22 | ↓ -79% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|< 21 | $525.48 | ↓ -74% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|> 21 | $525.48 | ↓ -74% |
| CenCal | Medicaid|< 21 | $673.45 | ↓ -66% |
| CenCal | Medicaid|> 21 | $673.45 | ↓ -66% |
| MHS HSPCC | Commercial|All Plans | $1,377.81 | ↓ -31% |
| MHS Hospice | Commercial|All Plans | $2,008.72 | ↑ +0% |
| Humana | Commercial|All Plans | $2,481.19 | ↑ +24% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $2,481.19 | ↑ +24% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $2,481.19 | ↑ +24% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $2,481.19 | ↑ +24% |
| Health Net | Medicare|All Plans | $2,481.19 | ↑ +24% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $2,481.19 | ↑ +24% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Plans | $2,481.19 | ↑ +24% |
| Alignment | Medicare|All Plans | $2,481.19 | ↑ +24% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Plans | $2,481.19 | ↑ +24% |
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $2,806.65 | ↑ +40% |
| Health Net | Commercial|FFS | $2,857.68 | ↑ +43% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $3,163.86 | ↑ +58% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $4,337.55 | ↑ +117% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $4,337.55 | ↑ +117% |
| Aetna | Commercial|Gatekeeper | $4,567.00 | ↑ +128% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $4,694.76 | ↑ +135% |
| Aetna | Commercial|Non-Gatekeeper | $4,906.00 | ↑ +145% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $5,000.94 | ↑ +150% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Non-MCS | $5,000.94 | ↑ +150% |
| Blue Shield CA | Commercial|Exchange | $5,556.00 | ↑ +178% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $7,439.00 | ↑ +272% |
| Blue Shield CA | Commercial|FFS | $8,190.00 | ↑ +309% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Removal of spinal shunt at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $2,184.09 | $427.22 – $5,000.94 |
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | not published | $525.48 – $4,511.78 |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital | Petaluma | not published | $2,570.00 – $6,619.00 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | not published | $427.22 – $427.22 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | not published | $427.22 – $2,481.19 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | not published | $427.22 – $2,481.19 |
| Queen of The Valley Medical Center | Napa | not published | $2,772.60 – $10,593.00 |
| Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka | Eureka | not published | $2,511.53 – $10,413.00 |