X-ray surgical specimen at French Hospital
1911 Johnson Ave, San Luis Obispo, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1881760452
$1,163.85
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.
$2,969.00
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.
$20.77 with Molina vs $2,670.37 with Cigna — 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 | $20.77 | ↓ -98% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $20.77 | ↓ -98% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $20.77 | ↓ -98% |
| CenCal | Medicaid|> 21 | $20.77 | ↓ -98% |
| CenCal | Medicaid|< 21 | $20.77 | ↓ -98% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|All Plans | $20.77 | ↓ -98% |
| Molina | Medicaid|> 21 | $20.77 | ↓ -98% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|< 21 | $25.55 | ↓ -98% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|> 21 | $25.55 | ↓ -98% |
| Aetna | Commercial|Gatekeeper | $58.72 | ↓ -95% |
| Aetna | Commercial|Non-Gatekeeper | $114.79 | ↓ -90% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $176.00 | ↓ -85% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Non-MCS | $179.80 | ↓ -85% |
| MHS HSPCC | Commercial|All Plans | $414.72 | ↓ -64% |
| MHS Hospice | Commercial|All Plans | $562.63 | ↓ -52% |
| Health Net | Medicare|All Plans | $696.67 | ↓ -40% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $696.67 | ↓ -40% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $696.67 | ↓ -40% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Plans | $696.67 | ↓ -40% |
| Alignment | Medicare|All Plans | $696.67 | ↓ -40% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Plans | $696.67 | ↓ -40% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $696.67 | ↓ -40% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $696.67 | ↓ -40% |
| Humana | Commercial|All Plans | $696.67 | ↓ -40% |
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $768.00 | ↓ -34% |
| Health Net | Commercial|FFS | $860.16 | ↓ -26% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $952.32 | ↓ -18% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $1,086.50 | ↓ -7% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $1,086.50 | ↓ -7% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $1,086.50 | ↓ -7% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $1,305.60 | ↑ +12% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $1,305.60 | ↑ +12% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $1,505.28 | ↑ +29% |
| Cigna | Commercial|PPO | $2,670.37 | ↑ +129% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $2,670.37 | ↑ +129% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
X-ray surgical specimen at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fresno Medical Center | FRESNO | $1,383.20 | $731.00 – $731.00 |
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $542.69 | $31.43 – $2,339.15 |
| Antioch Medical Center | ANTIOCH | $1,383.20 | $731.00 – $731.00 |
| Redwood City Medical Center | Redwood City | $1,383.20 | $731.00 – $731.00 |
| Santa Clara Medical Center | SANTA CLARA | $1,383.20 | $731.00 – $731.00 |
| Baldwin Park Medical Center | BALDWIN PARK | $1,222.00 | $498.00 – $498.00 |
| Riverside Medical Center | RIVERSIDE | $1,222.00 | $498.00 – $498.00 |
| Fremont Medical Center | FREMONT | $1,383.20 | $731.00 – $731.00 |