Sterile water/saline, 10 ml at SIERRA VISTA HOSPITAL, INC.
1010 Murray Ave, San Luis Obispo, CA · Adventisthealth · · NPI 1639101116
$2.88
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.
$32.00
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.
$0.63 with UHC MCR ADV vs $6.50 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 →
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| UHC MCR ADV | UHC MCR ADV | $0.63 | ↓ -78% |
| CENCAL MCR ADV - ALL OTHER PLANS | CENCAL MCR ADV - ALL OTHER PLANS | $0.63 | ↓ -78% |
| TRICARE BLUE SHIELD-ALL PLANS | TRICARE BLUE SHIELD-ALL PLANS | $0.63 | ↓ -78% |
| AETNA MCR ADV | AETNA MCR ADV | $0.63 | ↓ -78% |
| CFMG-CA FORENSIC MED GRP OP/PROFEE ONLY-ALL PLANS | CFMG-CA FORENSIC MED GRP OP/PROFEE ONLY-ALL PLANS | $0.82 | ↓ -72% |
| COALINGA-ALL PLANS | COALINGA-ALL PLANS | $0.82 | ↓ -72% |
| AH EMPLOYEE HEALTH PLAN - ALL PLANS | AH EMPLOYEE HEALTH PLAN - ALL PLANS | $1.13 | ↓ -61% |
| HPN-HERITAGE PROV NTWRK-ALL PLANS | HPN-HERITAGE PROV NTWRK-ALL PLANS | $1.70 | ↓ -41% |
| UHC PPO | UHC PPO | $1.72 | ↓ -40% |
| UHC HMO | UHC HMO | $1.72 | ↓ -40% |
| UHC ALL PAYER - ALL OTHER PLANS | UHC ALL PAYER - ALL OTHER PLANS | $1.72 | ↓ -40% |
| BLUE SHIELD EPN | BLUE SHIELD EPN | $1.96 | ↓ -32% |
| BLUE SHIELD HMO/POS | BLUE SHIELD HMO/POS | $2.44 | ↓ -15% |
| BLUE SHIELD EPO/PPO-ALL OTHER PLANS | BLUE SHIELD EPO/PPO-ALL OTHER PLANS | $2.69 | ↓ -7% |
| NBD-NTWRKS BY DESIGN NON-EXCLUS | NBD-NTWRKS BY DESIGN NON-EXCLUS | $2.89 | ↑ +0% |
| NBD-NTWRKS BY DESIGN EXCLUS-ALL OTHER PLANS | NBD-NTWRKS BY DESIGN EXCLUS-ALL OTHER PLANS | $2.89 | ↑ +0% |
| AETNA - ALL OTHER PLANS | AETNA - ALL OTHER PLANS | $3.10 | ↑ +8% |
| MEDI-CAL | MEDI-CAL | $5.00 | ↑ +74% |
| CENCAL MCAL | CENCAL MCAL | $5.70 | ↑ +98% |
| BLUE SHIELD PROMISE MCAL | BLUE SHIELD PROMISE MCAL | $6.01 | ↑ +109% |
| CCAH-CENTRL CA ALLINCE MCAL-ALL PLANS | CCAH-CENTRL CA ALLINCE MCAL-ALL PLANS | $6.50 | ↑ +126% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Sterile water/saline, 10 ml at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| REEDLEY COMMUNITY HOSPITAL | Reedley | $7.91 | $0.63 – $4.52 |
| ST HELENA HOSPITAL | Vallejo | $13.66 | $0.63 – $17.63 |
| HANFORD COMMUNITY HOSPITAL | Selma | $7.96 | $0.63 – $5.85 |
| SAN JOAQUIN COMMUNITY HOSPITAL | Bakersfield | $10.04 | $0.57 – $9.38 |
| ADVENTIST HEALTH DELANO | Delano | $5.98 | $0.57 – $8.53 |
| ADVENTIST HEALTH MENDOCINO COAST | Fort Bragg | $13.93 | $5.98 – $17.95 |
| ADVENTIST HEALTH CLEARLAKE HOSPITAL | Clearlake | $20.70 | $4.81 – $7.93 |
| WILLITS HOSPITAL INC | Willits | $15.00 | $7.96 – $7.96 |