Smear special stain inclusion bodies/parasites 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

$87.30

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.

$970.00

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.

$3.05 with UHC PPO vs $1,105.80 with CENCAL MCAL — 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
UHC PPO UHC PPO $3.05 ↓ -97%
BLUE SHIELD EPO/PPO-ALL OTHER PLANS BLUE SHIELD EPO/PPO-ALL OTHER PLANS $4.78 ↓ -95%
NBD-NTWRKS BY DESIGN NON-EXCLUS NBD-NTWRKS BY DESIGN NON-EXCLUS $5.13 ↓ -94%
TRICARE BLUE SHIELD-ALL PLANS TRICARE BLUE SHIELD-ALL PLANS $5.99 ↓ -93%
CENCAL MCR ADV - ALL OTHER PLANS CENCAL MCR ADV - ALL OTHER PLANS $5.99 ↓ -93%
UHC MCR ADV UHC MCR ADV $5.99 ↓ -93%
AETNA MCR ADV AETNA MCR ADV $5.99 ↓ -93%
CFMG-CA FORENSIC MED GRP OP/PROFEE ONLY-ALL PLANS CFMG-CA FORENSIC MED GRP OP/PROFEE ONLY-ALL PLANS $7.79 ↓ -91%
UHC HMO UHC HMO $10.32 ↓ -88%
BLUE SHIELD PROMISE MCAL BLUE SHIELD PROMISE MCAL $10.67 ↓ -88%
AH EMPLOYEE HEALTH PLAN - ALL PLANS AH EMPLOYEE HEALTH PLAN - ALL PLANS $10.78 ↓ -88%
NBD-NTWRKS BY DESIGN EXCLUS-ALL OTHER PLANS NBD-NTWRKS BY DESIGN EXCLUS-ALL OTHER PLANS $17.33 ↓ -80%
MEDI-CAL MEDI-CAL $30.00 ↓ -66%
COALINGA-ALL PLANS COALINGA-ALL PLANS $39.00 ↓ -55%
HPN-HERITAGE PROV NTWRK-ALL PLANS HPN-HERITAGE PROV NTWRK-ALL PLANS $97.58 ↑ +12%
UHC ALL PAYER - ALL OTHER PLANS UHC ALL PAYER - ALL OTHER PLANS $98.73 ↑ +13%
BLUE SHIELD EPN BLUE SHIELD EPN $112.50 ↑ +29%
BLUE SHIELD HMO/POS BLUE SHIELD HMO/POS $140.06 ↑ +60%
CCAH-CENTRL CA ALLINCE MCAL-ALL PLANS CCAH-CENTRL CA ALLINCE MCAL-ALL PLANS $373.10 ↑ +327%
CENCAL MCAL CENCAL MCAL $1,105.80 ↑ +1167%

Visitor-reported prices

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Smear special stain inclusion bodies/parasites at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $30.19 $2.35 – $18.13
Fresno Medical Center FRESNO $110.88 $6.00 – $6.00
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $67.02 $2.35 – $15.88
Antioch Medical Center ANTIOCH $110.88 $6.00 – $6.00
Redwood City Medical Center Redwood City $110.88 $6.00 – $6.00
Santa Clara Medical Center SANTA CLARA $110.88 $6.00 – $6.00
Baldwin Park Medical Center BALDWIN PARK $82.16 $5.00 – $5.00
Riverside Medical Center RIVERSIDE $82.16 $5.00 – $5.00

All California hospitals for this procedure →