Myelography via inj w/s&i lumbosacral 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

$1,790.33

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.

$4,183.00

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.

$830.57 with MHS Hospice vs $9,715.00 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 →

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 $830.57 ↓ -54%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $1,003.85 ↓ -44%
Scan Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $1,003.85 ↓ -44%
Alignment Medicare|All Plans $1,003.85 ↓ -44%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $1,003.85 ↓ -44%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $1,003.85 ↓ -44%
United Medicare|All Plans $1,003.85 ↓ -44%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $1,003.85 ↓ -44%
Western Growers Commercial|All Plans $2,300.65 ↑ +29%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $2,635.29 ↑ +47%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $3,513.72 ↑ +96%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $3,681.04 ↑ +106%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $3,722.87 ↑ +108%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $3,848.36 ↑ +115%
United Commercial|Options PPO $3,890.19 ↑ +117%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $4,099.34 ↑ +129%
United Commercial|HMO $4,141.17 ↑ +131%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $4,486.00 ↑ +151%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $5,710.00 ↑ +219%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $5,710.00 ↑ +219%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $5,710.00 ↑ +219%
Health Net Commercial|Care Product $5,970.00 ↑ +233%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|FFS $6,515.00 ↑ +264%
Health Net Commercial|FFS $6,759.00 ↑ +278%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Non-MCS $7,250.00 ↑ +305%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $9,715.00 ↑ +443%

Visitor-reported prices

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Myelography via inj w/s&i lumbosacral at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $962.29 $593.19 – $1,859.28
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $626.92 $158.01 – $1,164.97
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $1,577.02 $696.33 – $2,527.42
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $857.39 $623.97 – $1,848.80
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $848.14 $245.18 – $1,825.69
Queen of The Valley Medical Center Napa $2,758.08 $1,113.06 – $6,200.00
Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka Eureka $5,836.95 $1,008.25 – $8,018.00
St. Joseph's Medical Center Stockton Stockton $2,647.47 $952.80 – $4,308.36

All California hospitals for this procedure →