Ultrasound guide tissue ablation 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

$154.80

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.

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

$1,720.00

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.

$584.80 with HPN-HERITAGE PROV NTWRK-ALL PLANS vs $2,236.00 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 $584.80 ↑ +278%
UHC HMO UHC HMO $591.68 ↑ +282%
UHC PPO UHC PPO $591.68 ↑ +282%
UHC ALL PAYER - ALL OTHER PLANS UHC ALL PAYER - ALL OTHER PLANS $591.68 ↑ +282%
BLUE SHIELD EPN BLUE SHIELD EPN $674.24 ↑ +336%
BLUE SHIELD HMO/POS BLUE SHIELD HMO/POS $839.36 ↑ +442%
BLUE SHIELD EPO/PPO-ALL OTHER PLANS BLUE SHIELD EPO/PPO-ALL OTHER PLANS $925.36 ↑ +498%
NBD-NTWRKS BY DESIGN NON-EXCLUS NBD-NTWRKS BY DESIGN NON-EXCLUS $993.30 ↑ +542%
NBD-NTWRKS BY DESIGN EXCLUS-ALL OTHER PLANS NBD-NTWRKS BY DESIGN EXCLUS-ALL OTHER PLANS $993.30 ↑ +542%
MEDI-CAL MEDI-CAL $1,720.00 ↑ +1011%
CENCAL MCAL CENCAL MCAL $1,960.80 ↑ +1167%
BLUE SHIELD PROMISE MCAL BLUE SHIELD PROMISE MCAL $2,067.44 ↑ +1236%
COALINGA-ALL PLANS COALINGA-ALL PLANS $2,236.00 ↑ +1344%
CCAH-CENTRL CA ALLINCE MCAL-ALL PLANS CCAH-CENTRL CA ALLINCE MCAL-ALL PLANS $2,236.00 ↑ +1344%

Visitor-reported prices

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Ultrasound guide tissue ablation at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $341.83 $139.70 – $854.56
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $112.57 $69.39 – $211.35
Redwood City Medical Center Redwood City $655.20 not published
Santa Clara Medical Center SANTA CLARA $655.20 not published
Baldwin Park Medical Center BALDWIN PARK $644.80 not published
Riverside Medical Center RIVERSIDE $644.80 not published
Sacramento Medical Center SACRAMENTO $655.20 not published
Oakland Medical Center Oakland $655.20 not published

All California hospitals for this procedure →