Fern test 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

$76.74

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.

$261.00

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.

$8.28 with Medcore vs $214.02 with MultiPlan — 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
Medcore Commercial|Without ER $8.28 ↓ -89%
Medcore Commercial|With ER $8.28 ↓ -89%
Alignment Health Medicare|All Plans $8.77 ↓ -89%
Humana Medicare|All Plans $9.74 ↓ -87%
Aetna Medicare|All Plans $9.74 ↓ -87%
Molina Medicare|All Plans $9.74 ↓ -87%
United Medicare|All Plans $9.74 ↓ -87%
Cigna Medicare|All Plans $9.74 ↓ -87%
Kaiser Medicare|All Plans $9.74 ↓ -87%
BCBS - Anthem Medicare|All Plans $9.74 ↓ -87%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $9.74 ↓ -87%
Scan Health Plan Medicare|All Plans $9.74 ↓ -87%
Hill Physicians Commercial|All Plans $9.74 ↓ -87%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $11.69 ↓ -85%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $11.69 ↓ -85%
United Commercial|Options PPO $11.69 ↓ -85%
United Commercial|HMO $11.69 ↓ -85%
Kaiser Commercial|All Other Plans $54.81 ↓ -29%
Kaiser Commercial|Affiliated Payers $54.81 ↓ -29%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $57.05 ↓ -26%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $57.05 ↓ -26%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Exchange $70.46 ↓ -8%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Non-MCS $96.58 ↑ +26%
Sutter UMR Commercial|All Plans $117.45 ↑ +53%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $135.70 ↑ +77%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $156.60 ↑ +104%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $164.43 ↑ +114%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $187.92 ↑ +145%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|All Other Plans $203.58 ↑ +165%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $214.02 ↑ +179%

Visitor-reported prices

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Fern test at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. Joseph's Behavioral Health Center Stockton $65.67 $9.74 – $92.00
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $41.32 $1.95 – $64.02
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $47.86 $9.74 – $86.40
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $47.35 $9.74 – $85.32
Mercy Medical Center Merced Merced $67.98 $9.74 – $124.08
Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital Grass Valley $70.85 $9.74 – $124.46
California Hospital Medical Center Los Angeles $16.98 $8.40 – $27.65
St. Mary Medical Center Long Beach $71.38 $9.74 – $42.40

All California hospitals for this procedure →