Echo stress 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

$2,059.20

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.

$4,576.00

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.

$137.87 with BCBS - Anthem vs $20,963.00 with United — 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 $137.87 ↓ -93%
COSC Psych Medicaid|All Plans $137.87 ↓ -93%
Central California Alliance for Health Medicaid|All Plans $137.87 ↓ -93%
Health Net Medicaid|< 21 $208.58 ↓ -90%
Health Net Medicaid|> 21 $208.58 ↓ -90%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $753.29 ↓ -63%
United Medicare|All Plans $753.29 ↓ -63%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $753.29 ↓ -63%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $753.29 ↓ -63%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|DHMF $858.75 ↓ -58%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $974.45 ↓ -53%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $1,361.65 ↓ -34%
Sutter Health Commercial|All Plans $2,357.80 ↑ +15%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $2,974.40 ↑ +44%
Western Growers Commercial|All Plans $3,203.20 ↑ +56%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $3,660.80 ↑ +78%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $3,889.60 ↑ +89%
Multiplan Commercial|All Plans $3,889.60 ↑ +89%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $4,072.64 ↑ +98%
Health Net Commercial|Community Care $5,842.00 ↑ +184%
Health Net Commercial|Care Product $7,113.00 ↑ +245%
Health Net Commercial|Blue Gold $7,196.00 ↑ +249%
Health Net Commercial|All Other Plans $7,903.00 ↑ +284%
United Commercial|HMO $16,583.00 ↑ +705%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $17,458.00 ↑ +748%
United Commercial|Options PPO $20,963.00 ↑ +918%

Visitor-reported prices

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Echo stress at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $1,465.55 $208.58 – $2,609.88
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $739.27 $59.86 – $158.60
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $1,081.56 $137.87 – $2,476.46
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $990.59 $137.87 – $2,476.46
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $761.67 $137.87 – $1,642.40
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $1,608.20 $137.87 – $1,621.87
Queen of The Valley Medical Center Napa $8,183.46 $640.28 – $3,331.00
Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka Eureka $971.04 $702.78 – $3,331.00

All California hospitals for this procedure →