Surgical pathology level 5 gross & microscopic examination at Arroyo Grande Hospital
1400 E Church St, Santa Maria, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1760510937
$141.24
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.
$330.00
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.
$109.34 with Western Growers vs $536.77 with Cigna — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Growers | Commercial|All Plans | $109.34 | ↓ -23% |
| CenCal | Medicaid|< 21 | $125.71 | ↓ -11% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|> 21 | $125.71 | ↓ -11% |
| Partnership Health Plan | Medicaid|< 21 | $125.71 | ↓ -11% |
| CenCal | Medicaid|> 21 | $125.71 | ↓ -11% |
| Kaiser | Commercial|All Plans | $137.77 | ↓ -2% |
| First Health | Commercial|All Plans | $183.70 | ↑ +30% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|> 21 | $190.18 | ↑ +35% |
| Health Net | Medicaid|< 21 | $190.18 | ↑ +35% |
| Healthsmart | Commercial|All Plans | $201.19 | ↑ +42% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|Non-MCS | $212.12 | ↑ +50% |
| MultiPlan | Commercial|All Plans | $214.31 | ↑ +52% |
| Humana | Medicare|All Plans | $218.68 | ↑ +55% |
| Aetna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $218.68 | ↑ +55% |
| Aetna | Commercial|PPO | $218.68 | ↑ +55% |
| Aetna | Medicare|All Plans | $218.68 | ↑ +55% |
| Aetna | Commercial|HMO | $218.68 | ↑ +55% |
| United | Commercial|All Other Plans | $218.68 | ↑ +55% |
| United | Commercial|Options PPO | $218.68 | ↑ +55% |
| United | Commercial|Non-Options PPO | $218.68 | ↑ +55% |
| Kaiser | Medicare|All Plans | $218.68 | ↑ +55% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Medicare|All Plans | $218.68 | ↑ +55% |
| BCBS - Anthem | Commercial|MCS | $218.68 | ↑ +55% |
| Alignment | Medicare|All Plans | $218.68 | ↑ +55% |
| Scan Health Plan | Medicare|All Plans | $218.68 | ↑ +55% |
| MHS Hospice | Commercial|All Plans | $345.75 | ↑ +145% |
| United | Commercial|HMO | $349.51 | ↑ +147% |
| United | Medicare|All Plans | $457.06 | ↑ +224% |
| Cigna | Commercial|All Other Plans | $536.77 | ↑ +280% |
| Cigna | Commercial|PPO | $536.77 | ↑ +280% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Surgical pathology level 5 gross & microscopic examination at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $222.51 | $137.16 – $813.52 |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital | Petaluma | $653.82 | $163.66 – $566.82 |
| Mark Twain Medical Center | San Andreas | $291.05 | $56.81 – $215.18 |
| French Hospital | San Luis Obispo | $129.36 | $59.05 – $631.01 |
| Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield | Bakersfield | $191.44 | $123.13 – $598.65 |
| Bakersfield Memorial Hospital | Bakersfield | $189.38 | $123.13 – $598.65 |
| Queen of The Valley Medical Center | Napa | $613.53 | $206.83 – $566.82 |
| Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka | Eureka | $409.53 | $234.54 – $566.82 |