CT thoracic spine w/contrast 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

$6,393.15

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.

Full explanation →

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

$14,207.00

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.

Full explanation →

The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$235.73 with Central California Alliance for Health vs $12,075.95 with First Health — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
?

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
Central California Alliance for Health Medicaid|All Plans $235.73 ↓ -96%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|All Plans $235.73 ↓ -96%
COSC Psych Medicaid|All Plans $235.73 ↓ -96%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $244.57 ↓ -96%
United Medicare|All Plans $244.57 ↓ -96%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $244.57 ↓ -96%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $244.57 ↓ -96%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|DHMF $278.81 ↓ -96%
Health Net Medicaid|< 21 $356.64 ↓ -94%
Health Net Medicaid|> 21 $356.64 ↓ -94%
United Commercial|HMO $401.74 ↓ -94%
United Commercial|Options PPO $401.74 ↓ -94%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $401.74 ↓ -94%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $401.74 ↓ -94%
Sutter Health Commercial|All Plans $765.50 ↓ -88%
Cigna Commercial|LocalPlus $2,468.00 ↓ -61%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $2,625.00 ↓ -59%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $2,792.00 ↓ -56%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $2,996.10 ↓ -53%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $2,996.10 ↓ -53%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $3,900.00 ↓ -39%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $9,234.55 ↑ +44%
Western Growers Commercial|All Plans $9,944.90 ↑ +56%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $11,365.60 ↑ +78%
Multiplan Commercial|All Plans $12,075.95 ↑ +89%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $12,075.95 ↑ +89%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

CT thoracic spine w/contrast at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $1,527.31 $226.19 – $2,719.86
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $1,495.90 $35.60 – $2,550.13
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $5,563.08 $236.37 – $1,637.00
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $3,130.82 $226.19 – $5,445.86
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $5,665.67 $235.73 – $1,786.54
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $2,509.20 $226.19 – $1,768.00
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $3,309.32 $226.19 – $7,136.00
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $3,273.64 $226.19 – $7,046.80

All California hospitals for this procedure →