Blood Culture Test 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

$540.90

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.

$1,202.00

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.

$10.32 with Blue Shield CA vs $266.05 with Multiplan — 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
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $10.32 ↓ -98%
United Medicare|All Plans $10.32 ↓ -98%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $10.32 ↓ -98%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $10.32 ↓ -98%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|DHMF $11.76 ↓ -98%
United Commercial|HMO $12.38 ↓ -98%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $12.38 ↓ -98%
United Commercial|Options PPO $12.38 ↓ -98%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $12.38 ↓ -98%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|All Plans $12.88 ↓ -98%
COSC Psych Medicaid|All Plans $12.88 ↓ -98%
Central California Alliance for Health Medicaid|All Plans $12.88 ↓ -98%
Health Net Medicaid|< 21 $19.48 ↓ -96%
Health Net Medicaid|> 21 $19.48 ↓ -96%
Sutter Health Commercial|All Plans $32.30 ↓ -94%
Cigna Commercial|LocalPlus $92.44 ↓ -83%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $98.33 ↓ -82%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $108.99 ↓ -80%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $108.99 ↓ -80%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $143.98 ↓ -73%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|ACO Trio $143.98 ↓ -73%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $162.04 ↓ -70%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|All Other Plans $175.28 ↓ -68%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $203.45 ↓ -62%
Western Growers Commercial|All Plans $219.10 ↓ -59%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $226.42 ↓ -58%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $250.40 ↓ -54%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $266.05 ↓ -51%
Multiplan Commercial|All Plans $266.05 ↓ -51%

Visitor-reported prices

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Blood Culture Test at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $257.11 $10.32 – $32.20
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $17.30 $2.06 – $30.07
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $417.18 $10.11 – $84.25
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $285.05 $10.32 – $36.26
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $273.73 $10.32 – $196.98
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $261.08 $10.32 – $39.20
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $221.86 $10.32 – $156.80
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $219.47 $10.32 – $165.11

All California hospitals for this procedure →