Critical care 30-74 minutes at SIERRA VISTA HOSPITAL, INC.

1010 Murray Ave, San Luis Obispo, CA · Adventisthealth · · NPI 1639101116

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Jan 10, 2026 · Ingested Sep 16, 2026

$882.90

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.

Full explanation →

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

$9,810.00

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.

Full explanation →

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

$1,060.54 with TRICARE BLUE SHIELD-ALL PLANS vs $20,138.00 with UHC PPO — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
?

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
TRICARE BLUE SHIELD-ALL PLANS TRICARE BLUE SHIELD-ALL PLANS $1,060.54 ↑ +20%
CENCAL MCR ADV - ALL OTHER PLANS CENCAL MCR ADV - ALL OTHER PLANS $1,060.54 ↑ +20%
UHC MCR ADV UHC MCR ADV $1,060.54 ↑ +20%
AETNA MCR ADV AETNA MCR ADV $1,060.54 ↑ +20%
AETNA - ALL OTHER PLANS AETNA - ALL OTHER PLANS $1,362.00 ↑ +54%
CFMG-CA FORENSIC MED GRP OP/PROFEE ONLY-ALL PLANS CFMG-CA FORENSIC MED GRP OP/PROFEE ONLY-ALL PLANS $1,378.70 ↑ +56%
AH EMPLOYEE HEALTH PLAN - ALL PLANS AH EMPLOYEE HEALTH PLAN - ALL PLANS $1,908.97 ↑ +116%
BLUE SHIELD EPN BLUE SHIELD EPN $3,845.52 ↑ +336%
HPN-HERITAGE PROV NTWRK-ALL PLANS HPN-HERITAGE PROV NTWRK-ALL PLANS $4,000.00 ↑ +353%
BLUE SHIELD HMO/POS BLUE SHIELD HMO/POS $4,787.28 ↑ +442%
BLUE SHIELD EPO/PPO-ALL OTHER PLANS BLUE SHIELD EPO/PPO-ALL OTHER PLANS $5,277.78 ↑ +498%
NBD-NTWRKS BY DESIGN NON-EXCLUS NBD-NTWRKS BY DESIGN NON-EXCLUS $5,665.28 ↑ +542%
NBD-NTWRKS BY DESIGN EXCLUS-ALL OTHER PLANS NBD-NTWRKS BY DESIGN EXCLUS-ALL OTHER PLANS $5,665.28 ↑ +542%
MEDI-CAL MEDI-CAL $9,810.00 ↑ +1011%
CENCAL MCAL CENCAL MCAL $11,183.40 ↑ +1167%
BLUE SHIELD PROMISE MCAL BLUE SHIELD PROMISE MCAL $11,791.62 ↑ +1236%
COALINGA-ALL PLANS COALINGA-ALL PLANS $12,753.00 ↑ +1344%
CCAH-CENTRL CA ALLINCE MCAL-ALL PLANS CCAH-CENTRL CA ALLINCE MCAL-ALL PLANS $12,753.00 ↑ +1344%
UHC HMO UHC HMO $14,005.00 ↑ +1486%
UHC ALL PAYER - ALL OTHER PLANS UHC ALL PAYER - ALL OTHER PLANS $16,109.00 ↑ +1725%
UHC PPO UHC PPO $20,138.00 ↑ +2181%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Critical care 30-74 minutes at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $3,130.12 $190.30 – $6,736.52
Fresno Medical Center FRESNO $5,909.68 not published
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $3,379.17 $295.99 – $6,326.30
Antioch Medical Center ANTIOCH $5,909.68 not published
Redwood City Medical Center Redwood City $5,909.68 not published
Santa Clara Medical Center SANTA CLARA $5,909.68 not published
Baldwin Park Medical Center BALDWIN PARK $5,487.56 not published
Riverside Medical Center RIVERSIDE $5,487.56 not published

All California hospitals for this procedure →