New Patient Office Visit (level 4) 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

$54.27

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.

$603.00

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.

$56.78 with HPN-HERITAGE PROV NTWRK-ALL PLANS vs $217.10 with CCAH-CENTRL CA ALLINCE MCAL-ALL PLANS — 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
HPN-HERITAGE PROV NTWRK-ALL PLANS HPN-HERITAGE PROV NTWRK-ALL PLANS $56.78 ↑ +5%
UHC HMO UHC HMO $57.45 ↑ +6%
UHC PPO UHC PPO $57.45 ↑ +6%
UHC ALL PAYER - ALL OTHER PLANS UHC ALL PAYER - ALL OTHER PLANS $57.45 ↑ +6%
BLUE SHIELD EPN BLUE SHIELD EPN $65.46 ↑ +21%
BLUE SHIELD HMO/POS BLUE SHIELD HMO/POS $81.50 ↑ +50%
BLUE SHIELD EPO/PPO-ALL OTHER PLANS BLUE SHIELD EPO/PPO-ALL OTHER PLANS $89.85 ↑ +66%
NBD-NTWRKS BY DESIGN NON-EXCLUS NBD-NTWRKS BY DESIGN NON-EXCLUS $96.44 ↑ +78%
NBD-NTWRKS BY DESIGN EXCLUS-ALL OTHER PLANS NBD-NTWRKS BY DESIGN EXCLUS-ALL OTHER PLANS $96.44 ↑ +78%
AETNA - ALL OTHER PLANS AETNA - ALL OTHER PLANS $103.54 ↑ +91%
UHC MCR ADV UHC MCR ADV $117.72 ↑ +117%
AETNA MCR ADV AETNA MCR ADV $117.72 ↑ +117%
CENCAL MCR ADV - ALL OTHER PLANS CENCAL MCR ADV - ALL OTHER PLANS $117.72 ↑ +117%
TRICARE BLUE SHIELD-ALL PLANS TRICARE BLUE SHIELD-ALL PLANS $117.72 ↑ +117%
CFMG-CA FORENSIC MED GRP OP/PROFEE ONLY-ALL PLANS CFMG-CA FORENSIC MED GRP OP/PROFEE ONLY-ALL PLANS $153.04 ↑ +182%
MEDI-CAL MEDI-CAL $167.00 ↑ +208%
CENCAL MCAL CENCAL MCAL $190.38 ↑ +251%
BLUE SHIELD PROMISE MCAL BLUE SHIELD PROMISE MCAL $200.73 ↑ +270%
AH EMPLOYEE HEALTH PLAN - ALL PLANS AH EMPLOYEE HEALTH PLAN - ALL PLANS $211.90 ↑ +290%
COALINGA-ALL PLANS COALINGA-ALL PLANS $217.10 ↑ +300%
CCAH-CENTRL CA ALLINCE MCAL-ALL PLANS CCAH-CENTRL CA ALLINCE MCAL-ALL PLANS $217.10 ↑ +300%

Visitor-reported prices

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New Patient Office Visit (level 4) at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $725.20 $98.01 – $355.74
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $1,166.40 $83.70 – $241.80
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $2,667.98 $231.65 – $548.05
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $1,043.90 $98.83 – $454.00
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $291.05 $58.73 – $222.46
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $178.08 $111.00 – $384.00
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $208.83 $104.00 – $314.82
Healdsburg Hospital Healdsburg $633.42 not published

All California hospitals for this procedure →