Prednisone 1 mg tablet at Arroyo Grande Hospital
1400 E Church St, Santa Maria, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1760510937
$3.43
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.
$8.00
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.
$0.02 with United vs $2.94 with MultiPlan — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $0.02 | ↓ -99% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $0.02 | ↓ -99% |
| United | Commercial|Options PPO | $0.02 | ↓ -99% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $0.03 | ↓ -99% |
| Blue Shield CA | Commercial|FFS | $0.23 | ↓ -93% |
| Blue Shield CA | Commercial|Exchange | $0.23 | ↓ -93% |
| Health Net | Commercial|Care Product | $0.42 | ↓ -88% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Non-MCS | $0.46 | ↓ -87% |
| Health Net | Commercial|FFS | $0.48 | ↓ -86% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $0.62 | ↓ -82% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $1.35 | ↓ -61% |
| Cigna | Commercial|PPO | $1.35 | ↓ -61% |
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $1.50 | ↓ -56% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $1.89 | ↓ -45% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $2.52 | ↓ -27% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $2.76 | ↓ -20% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $2.94 | ↓ -14% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Prednisone 1 mg tablet at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $6.57 | $0.02 – $11.70 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $0.50 | $0.78 – $1.84 |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital | Petaluma | $5.61 | $0.01 – $3.07 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $2.67 | $1.04 – $3.92 |
| French Hospital | San Luis Obispo | $4.32 | $0.02 – $2.94 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $2.97 | $0.02 – $3.20 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $2.21 | $0.01 – $3.16 |
| Queen of The Valley Medical Center | Napa | $5.61 | $0.01 – $3.07 |