Culture body fluid 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

$391.05

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.

$869.00

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.

$8.62 with Blue Shield CA vs $738.65 with First Health — 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 $8.62 ↓ -98%
United Medicare|All Plans $8.62 ↓ -98%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $8.62 ↓ -98%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $8.62 ↓ -98%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|DHMF $9.83 ↓ -97%
United Commercial|HMO $10.34 ↓ -97%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $10.34 ↓ -97%
United Commercial|Options PPO $10.34 ↓ -97%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $10.34 ↓ -97%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|All Plans $10.77 ↓ -97%
COSC Psych Medicaid|All Plans $10.77 ↓ -97%
Central California Alliance for Health Medicaid|All Plans $10.77 ↓ -97%
Health Net Medicaid|< 21 $16.30 ↓ -96%
Health Net Medicaid|> 21 $16.30 ↓ -96%
Sutter Health Commercial|All Plans $26.98 ↓ -93%
Cigna Commercial|LocalPlus $77.15 ↓ -80%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $82.07 ↓ -79%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $90.89 ↓ -77%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $90.89 ↓ -77%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $135.08 ↓ -65%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $188.76 ↓ -52%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $399.74 ↑ +2%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|ACO Trio $399.74 ↑ +2%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|All Other Plans $486.64 ↑ +24%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $564.85 ↑ +44%
Western Growers Commercial|All Plans $608.30 ↑ +56%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $695.20 ↑ +78%
Multiplan Commercial|All Plans $738.65 ↑ +89%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $738.65 ↑ +89%

Visitor-reported prices

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Culture body fluid at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $281.20 $8.62 – $26.90
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $62.50 $1.72 – $17.46
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $382.50 $8.45 – $70.24
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $521.74 $8.62 – $22.20
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $129.21 $8.62 – $147.98
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $477.85 $5.56 – $26.10
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $223.72 $8.62 – $24.76
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $221.31 $8.62 – $24.76

All California hospitals for this procedure →