Brain MRA (blood vessel MRI, 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

$4,128.06

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.

$9,645.00

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.

$324.17 with Partnership Health Plan vs $7,135.38 with MultiPlan — 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
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|< 21 $324.17 ↓ -92%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|> 21 $324.17 ↓ -92%
CenCal Medicaid|< 21 $337.61 ↓ -92%
CenCal Medicaid|> 21 $337.61 ↓ -92%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -89%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -89%
United Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -89%
Alignment Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -89%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -89%
Scan Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -89%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $453.77 ↓ -89%
MHS Hospice Commercial|All Plans $465.84 ↓ -89%
Health Net Medicaid|< 21 $490.44 ↓ -88%
Health Net Medicaid|> 21 $490.44 ↓ -88%
United Commercial|Options PPO $828.27 ↓ -80%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $828.27 ↓ -80%
United Commercial|HMO $828.27 ↓ -80%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $828.27 ↓ -80%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $1,978.85 ↓ -52%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $1,978.85 ↓ -52%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $1,978.85 ↓ -52%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Non-MCS $2,036.00 ↓ -51%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $2,096.00 ↓ -49%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $2,096.00 ↓ -49%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $2,728.00 ↓ -34%
Western Growers Commercial|All Plans $3,640.50 ↓ -12%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $4,587.03 ↑ +11%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $6,116.04 ↑ +48%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $6,698.52 ↑ +62%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $7,135.38 ↑ +73%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Brain MRA (blood vessel MRI, with and without contrast) at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $2,761.59 $453.77 – $4,917.90
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $838.35 $71.43 – $3,011.85
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $12,859.13 $324.17 – $4,885.30
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $3,290.45 $324.17 – $2,111.00
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $2,943.89 $324.17 – $6,348.00
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $2,912.15 $324.17 – $6,268.65
Queen of The Valley Medical Center Napa $7,044.12 $495.35 – $6,606.76
Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka Eureka $4,752.69 $448.71 – $7,492.11

All California hospitals for this procedure →