Abdominal CT scan (with 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

$2,604.38

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.

$6,085.00

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 $4,989.18 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 ↓ -91%
Scan Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $226.19 ↓ -91%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $226.19 ↓ -91%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $226.19 ↓ -91%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $226.19 ↓ -91%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $226.19 ↓ -91%
Alignment Medicare|All Plans $226.19 ↓ -91%
United Medicare|All Plans $226.19 ↓ -91%
CenCal Medicaid|< 21 $299.45 ↓ -89%
CenCal Medicaid|> 21 $299.45 ↓ -89%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|> 21 $299.45 ↓ -89%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|< 21 $299.45 ↓ -89%
United Commercial|Options PPO $401.74 ↓ -85%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $401.74 ↓ -85%
United Commercial|HMO $401.74 ↓ -85%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $401.74 ↓ -85%
Health Net Medicaid|> 21 $453.03 ↓ -83%
Health Net Medicaid|< 21 $453.03 ↓ -83%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Non-MCS $1,642.00 ↓ -37%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $1,666.19 ↓ -36%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $1,666.19 ↓ -36%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $1,666.19 ↓ -36%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $1,756.00 ↓ -33%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $1,756.00 ↓ -33%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $2,200.00 ↓ -16%
Western Growers Commercial|All Plans $2,545.50 ↓ -2%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $3,207.33 ↑ +23%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $4,276.44 ↑ +64%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $4,683.72 ↑ +80%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $4,989.18 ↑ +92%

Visitor-reported prices

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Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $1,354.30 $226.19 – $2,411.76
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $1,889.08 $35.60 – $3,220.40
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $5,307.57 $236.37 – $1,583.70
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $6,462.87 $299.45 – $2,081.52
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $2,093.28 $226.19 – $1,768.00
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $2,071.30 $226.19 – $4,466.40
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $2,048.97 $226.19 – $4,410.57
Queen of The Valley Medical Center Napa $5,747.70 $249.04 – $2,001.40

All California hospitals for this procedure →