Myelography neck spine at Dominican Hospital
1555 Soquel Dr, Santa Cruz, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1427181007
$2,306.70
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.
$5,126.00
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.
$125.58 with BCBS - Anthem vs $12,434.33 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 →
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicaid|All Plans | $125.58 | ↓ -95% |
| Central California Alliance for Health | Medicaid|All Plans | $125.58 | ↓ -95% |
| COSC Psych | Medicaid|All Plans | $125.58 | ↓ -95% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|< 21 | $189.99 | ↓ -92% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|> 21 | $189.99 | ↓ -92% |
| Blue Shield CA | Medicare|All Plans | $1,085.43 | ↓ -53% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $1,085.43 | ↓ -53% |
| Health Net | Medicare|All Plans | $1,085.43 | ↓ -53% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $1,085.43 | ↓ -53% |
| Aetna | Commercial|HMO | $1,190.28 | ↓ -48% |
| Aetna | Commercial|PPO | $1,190.28 | ↓ -48% |
| Blue Shield CA | Commercial|DHMF | $1,237.39 | ↓ -46% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $1,609.16 | ↓ -30% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $1,609.16 | ↓ -30% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $1,609.16 | ↓ -30% |
| United | Commercial|Options PPO | $1,609.16 | ↓ -30% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|All Other Plans | $2,121.40 | ↓ -8% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $2,964.34 | ↑ +29% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $3,331.90 | ↑ +44% |
| Sutter Health | Commercial|All Plans | $3,397.40 | ↑ +47% |
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $3,588.20 | ↑ +56% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $4,100.80 | ↑ +78% |
| Multiplan | Commercial|All Plans | $4,357.10 | ↑ +89% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $4,357.10 | ↑ +89% |
| Cigna | Commercial|LocalPlus | $11,688.52 | ↑ +407% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $12,434.33 | ↑ +439% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Myelography neck spine at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $844.47 | $189.99 – $3,463.45 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $1,375.63 | $144.46 – $2,034.09 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $1,362.69 | $125.58 – $3,751.09 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $1,348.00 | $125.58 – $3,751.09 |
| Queen of The Valley Medical Center | Napa | $3,421.08 | $807.98 – $1,393.90 |
| St. Joseph's Medical Center Stockton | Stockton | $1,308.89 | $125.58 – $1,036.00 |
| Providence Mission Hospital - Mission Viejo | Mission Viejo | $1,277.76 | $570.12 – $1,865.27 |
| Mercy Medical Center Merced | Merced | $1,972.45 | $125.58 – $873.40 |