Frozen blood thaw 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

$149.85

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.

$333.00

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.

$216.45 with Kaiser vs $843.84 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
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $216.45 ↑ +44%
Western Growers Commercial|All Plans $233.10 ↑ +56%
United Medicare|All Plans $235.42 ↑ +57%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $235.42 ↑ +57%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $235.42 ↑ +57%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $235.42 ↑ +57%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $266.40 ↑ +78%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|DHMF $268.38 ↑ +79%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $276.39 ↑ +84%
Multiplan Commercial|All Plans $283.05 ↑ +89%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $283.05 ↑ +89%
United Commercial|HMO $333.00 ↑ +122%
United Commercial|Options PPO $333.00 ↑ +122%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $333.00 ↑ +122%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $333.00 ↑ +122%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $333.00 ↑ +122%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $333.00 ↑ +122%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $333.00 ↑ +122%
Sutter Health Commercial|All Plans $736.86 ↑ +392%
Cigna Commercial|LocalPlus $793.22 ↑ +429%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $843.84 ↑ +463%

Visitor-reported prices

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Frozen blood thaw at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Northridge Hospital Medical Center Northridge $83.98 $71.14 – $301.00
Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital Grass Valley $168.95 $73.28 – $303.80
Mercy San Juan Medical Center Carmichael $67.96 $27.28 – $281.48
Mercy General Hospital Sacramento $54.07 $86.80 – $248.00
Mercy Hospital of Folsom Folsom $96.48 $27.28 – $248.00
Woodland Memorial Hospital Woodland $67.96 $27.28 – $248.00
Methodist Hospital of Sacramento Sacramento $71.43 $86.80 – $229.69
Providence Saint John's Health Center Santa Monica $306.60 $6.26 – $566.82

All California hospitals for this procedure →