Bronchial challenge 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

$1,361.90

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.

$3,182.00

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.

$308.77 with MHS Hospice vs $3,150.18 with United — 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 $308.77 ↓ -77%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $395.66 ↓ -71%
Scan Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $395.66 ↓ -71%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $395.66 ↓ -71%
Alignment Medicare|All Plans $395.66 ↓ -71%
United Medicare|All Plans $395.66 ↓ -71%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $395.66 ↓ -71%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $395.66 ↓ -71%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Non-MCS $750.49 ↓ -45%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $1,005.83 ↓ -26%
Western Growers Commercial|All Plans $1,591.00 ↑ +17%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $2,004.66 ↑ +47%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $2,672.88 ↑ +96%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $2,800.16 ↑ +106%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $2,831.98 ↑ +108%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $2,927.44 ↑ +115%
United Commercial|Options PPO $2,959.26 ↑ +117%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $3,118.36 ↑ +129%
United Commercial|HMO $3,150.18 ↑ +131%

Visitor-reported prices

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Bronchial challenge at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $380.26 $62.28 – $678.03
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $994.34 $314.07 – $1,189.72
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $1,311.24 $395.66 – $3,278.10
Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka Eureka $970.02 $479.94 – $599.28
St. Joseph's Medical Center Stockton Stockton $441.59 $315.42 – $1,261.68
Mercy Medical Center Mt. Shasta Mt Shasta $697.09 $215.04 – $878.08
Mercy Medical Center Merced Merced $642.21 $332.55 – $1,234.53
Northridge Hospital Medical Center Northridge $607.67 $395.66 – $2,178.00

All California hospitals for this procedure →