Contrast x-ray of brain at St. Joseph's Medical Center Stockton

1800 N California St, Stockton, CA · CommonSpirit Health · · NPI 1528190931

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

$1,409.44

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.

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What you pay up front if you don't use insurance.

$4,794.00

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.

$127.68 with Kaiser vs $7,646.41 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 →

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
Kaiser Medicaid|> 21 $127.68 ↓ -91%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|< 21 $127.68 ↓ -91%
BCBS - Anthem Medicaid|> 21 $127.68 ↓ -91%
Health Plan of San Joaquin Medicaid|All Plans $127.68 ↓ -91%
HPSJ Medicaid|> 21 $127.68 ↓ -91%
Kaiser Medicaid|< 21 $127.68 ↓ -91%
Kaiser Commercial|All Other Plans $217.56 ↓ -85%
Kaiser Commercial|Affiliated Payers $217.56 ↓ -85%
Aetna Commercial|PPO $275.25 ↓ -80%
Aetna Commercial|HMO $275.25 ↓ -80%
Aetna Commercial|All Other Plans $275.25 ↓ -80%
Health Net Medicaid|All Plans $315.37 ↓ -78%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Exchange $381.99 ↓ -73%
Sutter UMR Commercial|All Plans $466.20 ↓ -67%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Non-MCS $523.58 ↓ -63%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $621.60 ↓ -56%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $735.67 ↓ -48%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $745.92 ↓ -47%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $849.52 ↓ -40%
Medcore Commercial|Without ER $880.60 ↓ -38%
Alignment Health Medicare|All Plans $932.40 ↓ -34%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $1,036.00 ↓ -26%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $1,036.00 ↓ -26%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $1,036.00 ↓ -26%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $1,036.00 ↓ -26%
United Commercial|HMO $1,036.00 ↓ -26%
United Commercial|Options PPO $1,036.00 ↓ -26%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $1,036.00 ↓ -26%
Cigna Medicare|All Plans $1,036.00 ↓ -26%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $1,036.00 ↓ -26%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $1,036.00 ↓ -26%
Scan Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $1,036.00 ↓ -26%
Hill Physicians Commercial|All Plans $1,036.00 ↓ -26%
Medcore Commercial|With ER $1,036.00 ↓ -26%
United Medicare|All Plans $1,120.94 ↓ -20%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $1,120.94 ↓ -20%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $7,646.41 ↑ +443%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $7,646.41 ↑ +443%

Visitor-reported prices

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Contrast x-ray of brain at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $1,464.54 $127.68 – $639.94
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $1,362.69 $127.68 – $3,751.09
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $1,348.00 $117.49 – $3,751.09
Mercy Medical Center Merced Merced $772.50 $102.36 – $756.80
Northridge Hospital Medical Center Northridge $538.75 $118.38 – $2,379.96
St Jude Medical Center Fullerton $1,833.60 $481.18 – $1,865.27
Providence St Joseph Hospital Orange Orange $956.16 $470.88 – $1,865.27
Providence Saint John's Health Center Santa Monica $773.50 $222.16 – $3,834.71

All California hospitals for this procedure →