Knee MRI (with contrast) at Providence Saint John's Health Center
2121 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica, CA · Providence · · NPI 1124026273
$1,955.80
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.
$5,588.00
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.
$813.72 with Aetna vs $3,063.50 with Blue Shield — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aetna | All Commercial Plans | $813.72 | ↓ -58% |
| Aetna | Medicare Managed Care Plan | $1,008.25 | ↓ -48% |
| Humana | Choicecare Medicare Managed Care Plan | $1,028.42 | ↓ -47% |
| Blue Cross | Anthem Vivity City Of La Other Commercial Plan | $1,056.32 | ↓ -46% |
| Blue Shield | Epn/Ifp Benefit Exchange | $1,074.63 | ↓ -45% |
| Unitedhealthcare | Select/Navigate Hmo | $1,089.31 | ↓ -44% |
| Unitedhealthcare | All Commercial Plans | $1,089.31 | ↓ -44% |
| Central Health Plan | Medicare Managed Care Plan | $1,109.08 | ↓ -43% |
| Blue Cross | Anthem Vivity Non City Of La Other Commercial Plan | $1,189.72 | ↓ -39% |
| La Care Health Plan | Covered Ca Exchange | $1,310.73 | ↓ -33% |
| Healthnet | Ambetter Hmo | $1,865.27 | ↓ -5% |
| Healthnet | Ambetter Ppo | $2,157.66 | ↑ +10% |
| Blue Shield | Medicare Managed Care Plan | $2,265.45 | ↑ +16% |
| Blue Cross | All Commercial Plans | $2,475.31 | ↑ +27% |
| Blue Shield | Tandem Ppo/Blue High Performance Ppo/Epo | $2,754.58 | ↑ +41% |
| Blue Shield | Ppo/Epo | $3,063.50 | ↑ +57% |
| Blue Shield | Hmo | $3,063.50 | ↑ +57% |
Visitor-reported prices
Comments
Knee MRI (with contrast) at other California hospitals
| Hospital | City | Cash price | Negotiated range |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's Camarillo Hospital | Camarillo | $1,808.94 | $473.55 – $3,221.40 |
| Banner Lassen Medical Center | Susanville | $2,932.20 | $753.39 – $4,092.43 |
| Petaluma Valley Hospital | Petaluma | $6,093.48 | $1,056.42 – $3,151.45 |
| Queen of The Valley Medical Center | Napa | $8,601.15 | $1,089.31 – $3,982.66 |
| Providence St Joseph Hospital Eureka | Eureka | $4,864.38 | $1,008.25 – $4,516.36 |
| Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital | Santa Rosa | $5,237.70 | $1,089.31 – $3,388.28 |
| Providence Mission Hospital - Mission Viejo | Mission Viejo | $3,054.72 | $857.02 – $1,865.27 |
| Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center | Tarzana | $1,870.75 | $733.99 – $1,865.27 |