Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with contrast) at Dominican Hospital
1555 Soquel Dr, Santa Cruz, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1427181007
$3,835.35
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.
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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
$8,523.00
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.
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The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$380.88 with COSC Psych vs $8,337.07 with BCBS - Anthem — 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 →
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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 ?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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| COSC Psych | Medicaid|All Plans | $380.88 | ↓ -90% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|All Plans | $380.88 | ↓ -90% |
| Central California Alliance for Health | Medicaid|All Plans | $380.88 | ↓ -90% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Plans | $490.65 | ↓ -87% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $490.65 | ↓ -87% |
| Health Net | Medicare|All Plans | $490.65 | ↓ -87% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $490.65 | ↓ -87% |
| Blue Shield CA | Commercial|DHMF | $559.34 | ↓ -85% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|> 21 | $576.23 | ↓ -85% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|< 21 | $576.23 | ↓ -85% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $828.27 | ↓ -78% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $828.27 | ↓ -78% |
| United | Commercial|Options PPO | $828.27 | ↓ -78% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $828.27 | ↓ -78% |
| Sutter Health | Commercial|All Plans | $1,535.73 | ↓ -60% |
| Aetna | Commercial|PPO | $3,349.67 | ↓ -13% |
| Aetna | Commercial|HMO | $3,349.67 | ↓ -13% |
| Cigna | Commercial|LocalPlus | $3,703.00 | ↓ -3% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $3,939.00 | ↑ +3% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $5,539.95 | ↑ +44% |
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $5,966.10 | ↑ +56% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|All Other Plans | $5,966.34 | ↑ +56% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $6,818.40 | ↑ +78% |
| Multiplan | Commercial|All Plans | $7,244.55 | ↑ +89% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $7,244.55 | ↑ +89% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $8,337.07 | ↑ +117% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Lower Back (Lumbar Spine) MRI (with contrast) at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $2,693.70 | $453.77 – $4,797.00 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $3,060.38 | $71.43 – $5,226.36 |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital | Petaluma | $6,185.79 | $470.15 – $3,102.10 |
| Arroyo Grande Hospital | Santa Maria | $2,918.11 | $380.88 – $5,519.36 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $8,313.68 | $380.88 – $3,150.70 |
| French Hospital | San Luis Obispo | $2,556.24 | $380.88 – $2,111.00 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $2,469.01 | $380.88 – $5,324.00 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $2,442.39 | $380.88 – $5,257.45 |