MRI chest without & 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

$3,568.05

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.

$7,929.00

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.

$472.42 with COSC Psych vs $7,929.00 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 →

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
COSC Psych Medicaid|All Plans $472.42 ↓ -87%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|All Plans $472.42 ↓ -87%
Central California Alliance for Health Medicaid|All Plans $472.42 ↓ -87%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $490.65 ↓ -86%
United Medicare|All Plans $490.65 ↓ -86%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $490.65 ↓ -86%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $490.65 ↓ -86%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|DHMF $559.34 ↓ -84%
Health Net Medicaid|> 21 $714.73 ↓ -80%
Health Net Medicaid|< 21 $714.73 ↓ -80%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $828.27 ↓ -77%
United Commercial|HMO $828.27 ↓ -77%
United Commercial|Options PPO $828.27 ↓ -77%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $828.27 ↓ -77%
Sutter Health Commercial|All Plans $1,535.73 ↓ -57%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $3,349.67 ↓ -6%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $3,349.67 ↓ -6%
Cigna Commercial|LocalPlus $3,703.00 ↑ +4%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $3,939.00 ↑ +10%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $5,153.85 ↑ +44%
Western Growers Commercial|All Plans $5,550.30 ↑ +56%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $6,343.20 ↑ +78%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $6,581.07 ↑ +84%
Multiplan Commercial|All Plans $6,739.65 ↑ +89%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $6,739.65 ↑ +89%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $7,929.00 ↑ +122%

Visitor-reported prices

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MRI chest without & w/contrast at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $1,777.41 $453.77 – $3,165.24
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $2,243.46 $71.43 – $3,131.16
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $3,062.77 $453.77 – $5,836.88
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $10,625.37 $472.42 – $3,932.74
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $2,366.90 $453.77 – $2,111.00
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $1,472.13 $453.77 – $3,174.40
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $1,456.26 $453.77 – $3,134.72
Queen of The Valley Medical Center Napa $12,829.05 $495.35 – $7,340.80

All California hospitals for this procedure →