Unlisted muscskel px head at French Hospital

1911 Johnson Ave, San Luis Obispo, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1881760452

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Feb 28, 2026 · Ingested Sep 10, 2026

$261.86

Cash price

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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.

Full explanation →

What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$668.00

Gross charge

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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.

Full explanation →

The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$180.36 with MHS HSPCC 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 →

Payer
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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
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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 $180.36 ↓ -31%
MHS Hospice Commercial|All Plans $237.91 ↓ -9%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $295.06 ↑ +13%
Humana Commercial|All Plans $295.06 ↑ +13%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $295.06 ↑ +13%
United Medicare|All Plans $295.06 ↑ +13%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $295.06 ↑ +13%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $295.06 ↑ +13%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $295.06 ↑ +13%
Alignment Medicare|All Plans $295.06 ↑ +13%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $295.06 ↑ +13%
Western Growers Commercial|All Plans $367.40 ↑ +40%
Health Net Commercial|FFS $374.08 ↑ +43%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $414.16 ↑ +58%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $567.80 ↑ +117%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $567.80 ↑ +117%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $614.56 ↑ +135%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $654.64 ↑ +150%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $5,556.00 ↑ +2022%
Aetna Commercial|Gatekeeper $7,108.00 ↑ +2614%
Aetna Commercial|Non-Gatekeeper $7,631.00 ↑ +2814%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|FFS $8,190.00 ↑ +3028%

Visitor-reported prices

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Unlisted muscskel px head at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $285.91 $295.06 – $654.64
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $266.01 $193.59 – $573.60
St. Joseph's Medical Center Stockton Stockton $174.05 $124.32 – $497.28
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo not published $295.06 – $521.66
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma not published $319.18 – $2,570.00
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield not published $295.06 – $295.06
Queen of The Valley Medical Center Napa not published $336.29 – $7,483.00
Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka Eureka not published $304.63 – $7,809.00

All California hospitals for this procedure →