Autologous blood process 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

$182.70

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.

$406.00

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.

$178.99 with United vs $955.95 with Cigna — 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
United Commercial|Options PPO $178.99 ↓ -2%
United Commercial|HMO $178.99 ↓ -2%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $178.99 ↓ -2%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $178.99 ↓ -2%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|ACO Trio $186.76 ↑ +2%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $186.76 ↑ +2%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|All Other Plans $227.36 ↑ +24%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $235.42 ↑ +29%
United Medicare|All Plans $235.42 ↑ +29%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $235.42 ↑ +29%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $235.42 ↑ +29%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $263.90 ↑ +44%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|DHMF $268.38 ↑ +47%
Western Growers Commercial|All Plans $284.20 ↑ +56%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $324.80 ↑ +78%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $336.98 ↑ +84%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $345.10 ↑ +89%
Multiplan Commercial|All Plans $345.10 ↑ +89%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $406.00 ↑ +122%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $406.00 ↑ +122%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $406.00 ↑ +122%
Sutter Health Commercial|All Plans $736.86 ↑ +303%
Cigna Commercial|LocalPlus $898.61 ↑ +392%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $955.95 ↑ +423%

Visitor-reported prices

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Autologous blood process at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $264.12 $162.81 – $470.34
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $117.61 $154.00 – $288.38
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $116.34 $154.00 – $288.38
St. Joseph's Behavioral Health Center Stockton $181.01 $31.70 – $253.60
St. Joseph's Medical Center Stockton Stockton $93.79 $66.99 – $261.58
Mercy Medical Center Merced Merced $175.62 $98.89 – $320.54
Northridge Hospital Medical Center Northridge $104.63 $52.50 – $375.00
Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital Grass Valley $286.13 $178.99 – $514.50

All California hospitals for this procedure →