Biopsy tongue anterior two-thirds 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

not published by hospital

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.

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

not published by hospital

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.

$77.76 with Partnership Health Plan vs $7,160.00 with BCBS - Anthem — 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
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|< 21 $77.76
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|> 21 $77.76
Health Net Medicaid|< 21 $95.64
Health Net Medicaid|> 21 $95.64
CenCal Medicaid|< 21 $122.57
CenCal Medicaid|> 21 $122.57
MHS Hospice Commercial|All Plans $538.88
Humana Medicare|All Plans $647.05
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $647.05
United Medicare|All Plans $647.05
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $647.05
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $647.05
Alignment Medicare|All Plans $647.05
Scan Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $647.05
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $4,486.00
Health Net Commercial|Care Product $4,782.00
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Non-MCS $5,343.00
Health Net Commercial|FFS $5,416.00
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $5,710.00
Aetna Commercial|PPO $5,710.00
Aetna Commercial|HMO $5,710.00
Blue Shield CA Commercial|FFS $6,515.00
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $7,160.00
United Commercial|All Other Plans not published by hospital
First Health Commercial|All Plans not published by hospital
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans not published by hospital
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans not published by hospital
United Commercial|HMO not published by hospital
United Commercial|Options PPO not published by hospital
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO not published by hospital
Western Growers Commercial|All Plans not published by hospital
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans not published by hospital

Visitor-reported prices

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Biopsy tongue anterior two-thirds at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo not published $95.64 – $1,146.62
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma not published $726.80 – $1,921.00
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas not published $77.76 – $77.76
French Hospital San Luis Obispo not published $77.76 – $647.05
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield not published $77.76 – $647.05
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield not published $77.76 – $647.05
Queen of The Valley Medical Center Napa not published $765.77 – $6,200.00
Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka Eureka not published $693.67 – $8,018.00

All California hospitals for this procedure →