Tissue exam koh skin/hair/nails 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

$23.12

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.

$54.00

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.

$4.27 with Alignment vs $54.00 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
Alignment Medicare|All Plans $4.27 ↓ -82%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $4.27 ↓ -82%
MHS Hospice Commercial|All Plans $4.27 ↓ -82%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $4.27 ↓ -82%
United Medicare|All Plans $4.27 ↓ -82%
Scan Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $4.27 ↓ -82%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $4.27 ↓ -82%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $4.27 ↓ -82%
CenCal Medicaid|< 21 $4.89 ↓ -79%
CenCal Medicaid|> 21 $4.89 ↓ -79%
United Commercial|Options PPO $5.12 ↓ -78%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $5.12 ↓ -78%
United Commercial|HMO $5.12 ↓ -78%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $5.12 ↓ -78%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|> 21 $5.35 ↓ -77%
Partnership Health Plan Medicaid|< 21 $5.35 ↓ -77%
Health Net Medicaid|> 21 $8.09 ↓ -65%
Health Net Medicaid|< 21 $8.09 ↓ -65%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $11.02 ↓ -52%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $11.02 ↓ -52%
Western Growers Commercial|All Plans $27.00 ↑ +17%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $31.34 ↑ +36%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $31.34 ↑ +36%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $31.34 ↑ +36%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $34.02 ↑ +47%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $34.02 ↑ +47%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $45.36 ↑ +96%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|FFS $47.52 ↑ +106%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $49.68 ↑ +115%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Non-MCS $52.38 ↑ +127%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $52.92 ↑ +129%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $54.00 ↑ +134%

Visitor-reported prices

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Tissue exam koh skin/hair/nails at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $92.07 $0.85 – $62.08
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $21.17 $4.27 – $52.92
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $8.58 $4.27 – $18.50
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $8.49 $4.27 – $18.27
Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka Eureka $160.14 $4.27 – $49.93
St. Joseph's Behavioral Health Center Stockton $13.21 $2.32 – $18.50
St. Joseph's Medical Center Stockton Stockton $32.34 $3.63 – $18.96
Providence Mission Hospital - Mission Viejo Mission Viejo $68.64 $3.63 – $8.54

All California hospitals for this procedure →