Myelography thoracic spine 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

$772.20

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.

Full explanation →

What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$1,716.00

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.

Full explanation →

The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.

$124.82 with Central California Alliance for Health vs $12,434.33 with Cigna — same scan, same building. Share

Negotiated rates by payer
?

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
Central California Alliance for Health Medicaid|All Plans $124.82 ↓ -84%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|All Plans $124.82 ↓ -84%
COSC Psych Medicaid|All Plans $124.82 ↓ -84%
Health Net Medicaid|< 21 $188.84 ↓ -76%
Health Net Medicaid|> 21 $188.84 ↓ -76%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $1,085.43 ↑ +41%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $1,085.43 ↑ +41%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $1,085.43 ↑ +41%
United Medicare|All Plans $1,085.43 ↑ +41%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $1,092.89 ↑ +42%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $1,092.89 ↑ +42%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $1,115.40 ↑ +44%
Western Growers Commercial|All Plans $1,201.20 ↑ +56%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|DHMF $1,237.39 ↑ +60%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $1,372.80 ↑ +78%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $1,424.28 ↑ +84%
Multiplan Commercial|All Plans $1,458.60 ↑ +89%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $1,458.60 ↑ +89%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $1,609.16 ↑ +108%
United Commercial|Options PPO $1,609.16 ↑ +108%
United Commercial|HMO $1,609.16 ↑ +108%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $1,609.16 ↑ +108%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $1,716.00 ↑ +122%
Sutter Health Commercial|All Plans $3,397.40 ↑ +340%
Cigna Commercial|LocalPlus $11,688.52 ↑ +1414%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $12,434.33 ↑ +1510%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Myelography thoracic spine at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $759.93 $188.84 – $3,463.45
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $2,938.65 $124.82 – $6,408.22
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $1,539.80 $124.82 – $621.32
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $2,344.95 $124.82 – $3,953.87
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $1,362.69 $124.82 – $3,751.09
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $1,348.00 $124.82 – $3,751.09
St. Joseph's Medical Center Stockton Stockton $1,255.68 $124.82 – $1,036.00
Mercy Medical Center Merced Merced $1,794.78 $124.82 – $873.40

All California hospitals for this procedure →