Surgical pathology level 6 gross & microscopic examination 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

$496.35

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.

$1,103.00

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.

$266.04 with COSC Psych vs $3,452.39 with Sutter Health — 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 $266.04 ↓ -46%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|All Plans $266.04 ↓ -46%
Central California Alliance for Health Medicaid|All Plans $266.04 ↓ -46%
Health Net Medicaid|< 21 $402.49 ↓ -19%
Health Net Medicaid|> 21 $402.49 ↓ -19%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|All Other Plans $429.56 ↓ -13%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $600.25 ↑ +21%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $716.95 ↑ +44%
Western Growers Commercial|All Plans $772.10 ↑ +56%
United Commercial|Options PPO $787.38 ↑ +59%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $787.38 ↑ +59%
United Commercial|HMO $787.38 ↑ +59%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $787.38 ↑ +59%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $882.40 ↑ +78%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $937.55 ↑ +89%
Multiplan Commercial|All Plans $937.55 ↑ +89%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $1,103.00 ↑ +122%
United Medicare|All Plans $1,103.00 ↑ +122%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $1,103.00 ↑ +122%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $1,103.00 ↑ +122%
Health Net Medicare|All Plans $1,103.00 ↑ +122%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $1,122.31 ↑ +126%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|DHMF $1,257.42 ↑ +153%
Cigna Commercial|LocalPlus $2,658.77 ↑ +436%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $2,828.42 ↑ +470%
Sutter Health Commercial|All Plans $3,452.39 ↑ +596%

Visitor-reported prices

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Surgical pathology level 6 gross & microscopic examination at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $391.58 $241.38 – $1,788.00
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $1,276.02 $223.35 – $1,256.40
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $132.85 $155.20 – $765.05
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $606.73 $79.03 – $299.38
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $121.68 $83.81 – $899.38
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $306.08 $204.27 – $853.25
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $302.78 $204.27 – $853.25
Queen of The Valley Medical Center Napa $1,407.60 $282.25 – $1,256.40

All California hospitals for this procedure →