Vital capacity test at French Hospital
1911 Johnson Ave, San Luis Obispo, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1881760452
$76.44
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.
$195.00
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.
$6.39 with BCBS - Anthem vs $198.80 with United — 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 | $6.39 | ↓ -92% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $6.39 | ↓ -92% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $6.39 | ↓ -92% |
| Molina | Medicaid|< 21 | $6.39 | ↓ -92% |
| Molina | Medicaid|> 21 | $6.39 | ↓ -92% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|< 21 | $7.86 | ↓ -90% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|> 21 | $7.86 | ↓ -90% |
| CenCal | Medicaid|< 21 | $10.13 | ↓ -87% |
| CenCal | Medicaid|> 21 | $10.13 | ↓ -87% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $45.19 | ↓ -41% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Non-MCS | $46.17 | ↓ -40% |
| MHS HSPCC | Commercial|All Plans | $52.65 | ↓ -31% |
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $97.50 | ↑ +28% |
| Health Net | Commercial|FFS | $109.20 | ↑ +43% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $120.90 | ↑ +58% |
| MHS Hospice | Commercial|All Plans | $161.63 | ↑ +111% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $165.75 | ↑ +117% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $165.75 | ↑ +117% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $179.40 | ↑ +135% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $191.10 | ↑ +150% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Plans | $195.00 | ↑ +155% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $195.00 | ↑ +155% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $195.00 | ↑ +155% |
| Humana | Commercial|All Plans | $195.00 | ↑ +155% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Plans | $195.00 | ↑ +155% |
| Health Net | Medicare|All Plans | $195.00 | ↑ +155% |
| Alignment | Medicare|All Plans | $195.00 | ↑ +155% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $195.00 | ↑ +155% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $198.80 | ↑ +160% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Vital capacity test at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $107.31 | $7.86 – $365.02 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $53.86 | $9.19 – $96.03 |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital | Petaluma | $230.52 | $25.01 – $176.94 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $85.60 | $6.39 – $198.80 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $128.54 | $6.39 – $188.16 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $122.81 | $6.39 – $264.80 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $121.48 | $6.39 – $261.49 |
| Queen of The Valley Medical Center | Napa | $183.60 | $31.60 – $182.70 |