Car outp meas drg cath chd 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

$142.53

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.

$333.00

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.

$166.50 with Western Growers vs $329.67 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
Western Growers Commercial|All Plans $166.50 ↑ +17%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $209.79 ↑ +47%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $279.72 ↑ +96%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $293.04 ↑ +106%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $296.37 ↑ +108%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $306.36 ↑ +115%
United Commercial|Options PPO $309.69 ↑ +117%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $326.34 ↑ +129%
United Commercial|HMO $329.67 ↑ +131%

Visitor-reported prices

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Car outp meas drg cath chd at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $126.62 $87.21 – $316.54
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $227.91 $310.50 – $614.79
St. Joseph's Medical Center Stockton Stockton $182.58 $130.41 – $521.64
Mercy Medical Center Merced Merced $319.82 $372.60 – $614.79
Northridge Hospital Medical Center Northridge $232.97 $192.05 – $835.00
St. Mary Medical Center Long Beach $45.15 $26.25 – $105.00
Community Hospital San Bernardino San Bernardino $59.44 $79.04 – $152.00
Glendale Memorial Hospital Health Center Glendale $145.73 $111.75 – $357.60

All California hospitals for this procedure →