Injection radioactive tracer sentinel node (both sides) at Arroyo Grande Hospital
1400 E Church St, Santa Maria, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1760510937
$481.93
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.
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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.
$1,126.00
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.
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The hospital's undiscounted list price — almost no one pays this.
$449.10 with MHS Hospice vs $7,160.00 with BCBS - Anthem — 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 →
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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 ?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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MHS Hospice | Commercial|All Plans | $449.10 | ↓ -7% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $510.57 | ↑ +6% |
| Scan Health Plan | Medicare|All Plans | $510.57 | ↑ +6% |
| Alignment | Medicare|All Plans | $510.57 | ↑ +6% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $510.57 | ↑ +6% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Plans | $510.57 | ↑ +6% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $510.57 | ↑ +6% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $510.57 | ↑ +6% |
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $619.30 | ↑ +29% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $709.38 | ↑ +47% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $945.84 | ↑ +96% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $990.88 | ↑ +106% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $1,002.14 | ↑ +108% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $1,035.92 | ↑ +115% |
| United | Commercial|Options PPO | $1,047.18 | ↑ +117% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $1,103.48 | ↑ +129% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $1,114.74 | ↑ +131% |
| Health Net | Commercial|Care Product | $4,782.00 | ↑ +892% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Non-MCS | $5,343.00 | ↑ +1009% |
| Health Net | Commercial|FFS | $5,416.00 | ↑ +1024% |
| Aetna | Commercial|PPO | $5,710.00 | ↑ +1085% |
| Aetna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $5,710.00 | ↑ +1085% |
| Aetna | Commercial|HMO | $5,710.00 | ↑ +1085% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $7,160.00 | ↑ +1386% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Injection radioactive tracer sentinel node (both sides) at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $406.47 | $250.56 – $975.58 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $375.32 | $196.39 – $464.63 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $951.72 | $19.92 – $75.46 |
| French Hospital | San Luis Obispo | $503.72 | $330.48 – $1,199.52 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $481.93 | $350.73 – $1,039.20 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $476.74 | $350.73 – $1,026.21 |
| Queen of The Valley Medical Center | Napa | $817.02 | $314.54 – $6,200.00 |
| Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka | Eureka | $2,093.55 | $514.17 – $8,018.00 |