Carotene at St. Joseph's Behavioral Health Center

2510 N California St, Stockton, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1053443473

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Feb 28, 2026 · Ingested Sep 10, 2026

$7.64

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.

$13.38

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.

$1.20 with DHR vs $9.96 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
DHR Medicaid|All Plans $1.20 ↓ -84%
DHR Commercial|All Plans $3.36 ↓ -56%
Kaiser Commercial|All Plans $6.00 ↓ -21%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $6.36 ↓ -17%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $6.36 ↓ -17%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $6.36 ↓ -17%
Magellan Commercial|All Plans $7.20 ↓ -6%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Exchange $7.44 ↓ -3%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $8.64 ↑ +13%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $8.76 ↑ +15%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $9.22 ↑ +21%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $9.22 ↑ +21%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $9.24 ↑ +21%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $9.60 ↑ +26%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $9.60 ↑ +26%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Non-MCS $9.96 ↑ +30%

Visitor-reported prices

visitor-reported
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Carotene at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. Joseph's Medical Center Stockton Stockton $3.94 $2.52 – $12.00
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $10.02 $1.84 – $15.52
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $33.89 $9.04 – $75.35
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $5.73 $6.69 – $23.74
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $8.92 $7.25 – $13.12
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $5.25 $3.62 – $27.91
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $4.97 $6.00 – $26.48
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $4.92 $6.00 – $26.48

All California hospitals for this procedure →