Puncture spinal lumbar diagnostic 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

$1,077.75

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.

$2,395.00

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.

$93.99 with BCBS - Anthem vs $9,244.00 with BCBS - Anthem — 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
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|All Plans $93.99 ↓ -91%
Health Net Medicaid|> 21 $115.61 ↓ -89%
Health Net Medicaid|< 21 $115.61 ↓ -89%
Central California Alliance for Health Medicaid|All Plans $148.16 ↓ -86%
COSC Psych Medicaid|All Plans $148.16 ↓ -86%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $923.00 ↓ -14%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $951.43 ↓ -12%
United Medicare|All Plans $951.43 ↓ -12%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $951.43 ↓ -12%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $951.43 ↓ -12%
Western Growers Commercial|All Plans $994.00 ↓ -8%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|DHMF $1,084.63 ↑ +1%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $1,136.00 ↑ +5%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $1,207.00 ↑ +12%
Multiplan Commercial|All Plans $1,207.00 ↑ +12%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $1,278.00 ↑ +19%
United Commercial|HMO $1,363.20 ↑ +26%
United Commercial|Options PPO $1,363.20 ↑ +26%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $1,420.00 ↑ +32%
Sutter Health Commercial|All Plans $2,977.98 ↑ +176%
Health Net Commercial|Community Care $5,842.00 ↑ +442%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $6,296.00 ↑ +484%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|ACO Trio $6,581.00 ↑ +511%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $6,617.00 ↑ +514%
Health Net Commercial|Care Product $7,113.00 ↑ +560%
Health Net Commercial|Blue Gold $7,196.00 ↑ +568%
Health Net Commercial|All Other Plans $7,903.00 ↑ +633%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|All Other Plans $8,045.00 ↑ +646%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $9,146.00 ↑ +749%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $9,218.00 ↑ +755%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $9,244.00 ↑ +758%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Puncture spinal lumbar diagnostic at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $743.29 $115.61 – $1,617.30
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $393.59 $116.85 – $276.45
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $1,530.51 $951.25 – $2,695.00
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $1,010.08 $93.99 – $1,803.20
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $1,845.49 $56.92 – $215.60
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $1,296.74 $93.99 – $1,803.20
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $782.44 $93.99 – $1,687.20
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $774.01 $93.99 – $1,666.11

All California hospitals for this procedure →