Fat/lipids feces qualitative 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

$6.00

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.

$14.00

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.

$5.10 with Kaiser vs $14.00 with BCBS - Anthem — 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
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $5.10 ↓ -15%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $5.10 ↓ -15%
Scan Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $5.10 ↓ -15%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $5.10 ↓ -15%
MHS Hospice Commercial|All Plans $5.10 ↓ -15%
United Medicare|All Plans $5.10 ↓ -15%
Alignment Medicare|All Plans $5.10 ↓ -15%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $5.10 ↓ -15%
CenCal Medicaid|< 21 $5.85 ↓ -3%
CenCal Medicaid|> 21 $5.85 ↓ -3%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $6.12 ↑ +2%
United Commercial|HMO $6.12 ↑ +2%
United Commercial|Options PPO $6.12 ↑ +2%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $6.12 ↑ +2%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|< 21 $6.50 ↑ +8%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|> 21 $6.50 ↑ +8%
Western Growers Commercial|All Plans $7.00 ↑ +17%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $8.82 ↑ +47%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $8.82 ↑ +47%
Health Net Medicaid|> 21 $9.84 ↑ +64%
Health Net Medicaid|< 21 $9.84 ↑ +64%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $11.76 ↑ +96%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|FFS $12.32 ↑ +105%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $12.88 ↑ +115%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $13.16 ↑ +119%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $13.16 ↑ +119%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Non-MCS $13.58 ↑ +126%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $13.72 ↑ +129%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $14.00 ↑ +133%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $14.00 ↑ +133%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $14.00 ↑ +133%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $14.00 ↑ +133%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
Report what you paid sign in to post

Comments

Add a comment sign in to post

Fat/lipids feces qualitative at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $6.14 $3.78 – $13.55
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $10.64 $1.02 – $16.49
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $16.17 $5.00 – $41.60
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $9.33 $5.10 – $13.72
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $5.49 $3.78 – $15.47
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $5.20 $5.10 – $14.68
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $5.14 $5.10 – $14.68
Queen of The Valley Medical Center Napa $16.17 $5.10 – $52.58

All California hospitals for this procedure →