Abdominal paracentesis w/image guidance at Dominican Hospital

1555 Soquel Dr, Santa Cruz, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1427181007

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Feb 28, 2026 · Ingested Sep 10, 2026

$2,619.00

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.

$5,820.00

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.

$103.10 with BCBS - Anthem vs $23,352.00 with Aetna — 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
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|All Plans $103.10 ↓ -96%
Central California Alliance for Health Medicaid|All Plans $113.15 ↓ -96%
COSC Psych Medicaid|All Plans $113.15 ↓ -96%
Health Net Medicaid|< 21 $126.81 ↓ -95%
Health Net Medicaid|> 21 $126.81 ↓ -95%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $1,288.08 ↓ -51%
United Medicare|All Plans $1,288.08 ↓ -51%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $1,288.08 ↓ -51%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $1,288.08 ↓ -51%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|DHMF $1,468.41 ↓ -44%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $3,783.00 ↑ +44%
Western Growers Commercial|All Plans $3,957.60 ↑ +51%
Sutter Health Commercial|All Plans $4,031.69 ↑ +54%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $4,656.00 ↑ +78%
Multiplan Commercial|All Plans $4,947.00 ↑ +89%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $4,947.00 ↑ +89%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $5,238.00 ↑ +100%
United Commercial|HMO $5,587.20 ↑ +113%
United Commercial|Options PPO $5,587.20 ↑ +113%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $5,820.00 ↑ +122%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $6,296.00 ↑ +140%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|ACO Trio $6,581.00 ↑ +151%
Health Net Commercial|Community Care $6,840.00 ↑ +161%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|All Other Plans $8,045.00 ↑ +207%
Health Net Commercial|Care Product $8,328.00 ↑ +218%
Health Net Commercial|Blue Gold $8,425.00 ↑ +222%
Health Net Commercial|All Other Plans $9,253.00 ↑ +253%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $9,272.00 ↑ +254%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $12,953.00 ↑ +395%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $23,174.00 ↑ +785%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $23,352.00 ↑ +792%

Visitor-reported prices

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Abdominal paracentesis w/image guidance at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $635.54 $126.81 – $2,072.04
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $840.39 $148.04 – $1,167.88
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $1,660.05 $1,222.26 – $4,657.00
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $1,746.67 $103.10 – $2,742.04
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $1,631.70 $75.29 – $285.18
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $1,599.76 $103.10 – $2,518.60
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $680.05 $103.10 – $1,466.40
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $672.72 $103.10 – $1,448.07

All California hospitals for this procedure →