Observation per hour 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

$120.84

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.

$411.00

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.

$52.00 with HPSJ vs $13,716.00 with United — 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
HPSJ Medicaid|> 21 $52.00 ↓ -57%
Health Plan of San Joaquin Medicaid|All Plans $52.00 ↓ -57%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|Exchange $63.00 ↓ -48%
Blue Shield CA Commercial|All Other Plans $67.00 ↓ -45%
Sutter UMR Commercial|All Plans $85.50 ↓ -29%
Cigna Commercial|PPO $96.90 ↓ -20%
Cigna Commercial|All Other Plans $96.90 ↓ -20%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Exchange $108.30 ↓ -10%
Blue Shield CA Medicare|All Plans $113.00 ↓ -6%
Healthsmart Commercial|All Plans $114.00 ↓ -6%
First Health Commercial|All Plans $136.80 ↑ +13%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|Non-MCS $148.20 ↑ +23%
MultiPlan Commercial|All Plans $155.80 ↑ +29%
BCBS - Anthem Commercial|MCS $190.00 ↑ +57%
Kaiser Commercial|Affiliated Payers $2,725.00 ↑ +2155%
Kaiser Commercial|All Other Plans $3,895.00 ↑ +3123%
United Commercial|Non-Options PPO $10,853.00 ↑ +8881%
United Commercial|All Other Plans $12,805.00 ↑ +10497%
United Commercial|Options PPO $13,346.00 ↑ +10944%
United Commercial|HMO $13,716.00 ↑ +11251%

Visitor-reported prices

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Observation per hour at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $328.07 $34.56 – $3,227.50
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $66.74 $44.28 – $104.76
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $141.27 not published
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $198.60 $63.00 – $257.00
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $168.50 $65.46 – $247.94
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $178.36 $59.13 – $214.62
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $129.48 $59.50 – $1,374.00
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $144.24 $25.00 – $1,298.00

All California hospitals for this procedure →