CT guidance for needle placement 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

$2,071.10

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.

$4,839.00

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.

$111.05 with Partnership Health Plan vs $4,552.02 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
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|< 21 $111.05 ↓ -95%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|> 21 $111.05 ↓ -95%
CenCal Medicaid|< 21 $111.05 ↓ -95%
CenCal Medicaid|> 21 $111.05 ↓ -95%
Health Net Medicaid|< 21 $168.01 ↓ -92%
Health Net Medicaid|> 21 $168.01 ↓ -92%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $653.43 ↓ -68%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $653.43 ↓ -68%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $653.43 ↓ -68%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $1,756.00 ↓ -15%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $1,756.00 ↓ -15%
Western Growers Commercial|All Plans $2,299.00 ↑ +11%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $2,896.74 ↑ +40%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Non-MCS $3,373.96 ↑ +63%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $3,862.32 ↑ +86%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $4,046.24 ↑ +95%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $4,092.22 ↑ +98%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $4,230.16 ↑ +104%
United Commercial|Options PPO $4,276.14 ↑ +106%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $4,506.04 ↑ +118%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $4,521.87 ↑ +118%
United Commercial|HMO $4,552.02 ↑ +120%

Visitor-reported prices

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CT guidance for needle placement at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $1,722.66 $168.01 – $3,067.74
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $751.92 $183.23 – $1,441.42
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $1,890.78 $111.05 – $1,110.34
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $1,537.04 $111.05 – $3,557.40
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $831.79 $111.05 – $1,793.60
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $822.82 $111.05 – $2,219.58
Queen of The Valley Medical Center Napa $3,626.61 $863.09 – $2,423.25
Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka Eureka $1,835.49 $2,747.98 – $2,747.98

All California hospitals for this procedure →