Abdominal CT scan (with and without contrast) at Arroyo Grande Hospital

1400 E Church St, Santa Maria, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1760510937

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Feb 28, 2026 · Ingested Sep 10, 2026

$2,657.88

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.

$6,210.00

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.

$222.30 with MHS Hospice vs $5,049.94 with MultiPlan — 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
MHS Hospice Commercial|All Plans $222.30 ↓ -92%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $226.19 ↓ -91%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $226.19 ↓ -91%
United Medicare|All Plans $226.19 ↓ -91%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $226.19 ↓ -91%
Scan Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $226.19 ↓ -91%
Alignment Medicare|All Plans $226.19 ↓ -91%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $226.19 ↓ -91%
CenCal Medicaid|< 21 $340.87 ↓ -87%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|> 21 $340.87 ↓ -87%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|< 21 $340.87 ↓ -87%
CenCal Medicaid|> 21 $340.87 ↓ -87%
United Commercial|Options PPO $401.74 ↓ -85%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $401.74 ↓ -85%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $401.74 ↓ -85%
United Commercial|HMO $401.74 ↓ -85%
Health Net Medicaid|< 21 $515.70 ↓ -81%
Health Net Medicaid|> 21 $515.70 ↓ -81%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Non-MCS $1,642.00 ↓ -38%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $1,756.00 ↓ -34%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $1,756.00 ↓ -34%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $2,049.61 ↓ -23%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $2,049.61 ↓ -23%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $2,049.61 ↓ -23%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $2,200.00 ↓ -17%
Western Growers Commercial|All Plans $2,576.50 ↓ -3%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $3,246.39 ↑ +22%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $4,328.52 ↑ +63%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $4,740.76 ↑ +78%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $5,049.94 ↑ +90%

Visitor-reported prices

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Abdominal CT scan (with and without contrast) at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $1,410.80 $226.19 – $2,512.38
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $2,266.90 $35.60 – $3,864.48
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $6,557.07 $236.37 – $1,960.59
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $9,055.61 $340.87 – $2,890.02
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $2,141.89 $226.19 – $1,768.00
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $2,402.60 $226.19 – $5,180.80
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $2,376.70 $226.19 – $5,116.04
Queen of The Valley Medical Center Napa $6,132.24 $249.04 – $2,477.70

All California hospitals for this procedure →