Puncture spinal lumbar diagnostic at ADVENTIST HEALTH MEDICAL CENTER TEHACHAPI

1100 Magellan Dr, Tehachapi, CA · Adventisthealth · · NPI 1275538530

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published May 21, 2026 · Ingested Sep 16, 2026

$138.78

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.

$514.00

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.

$56.65 with TRICARE BLUE SHIELD vs $523.31 with KAISER IP/OP ONLY- ALL OTHER PLANS — 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
TRICARE BLUE SHIELD TRICARE BLUE SHIELD $56.65 ↓ -59%
UNIVERSAL IPA MCR ADV OP/PROFEE ONLY-ALL OTHER PLA UNIVERSAL IPA MCR ADV OP/PROFEE ONLY-ALL OTHER PLA $56.65 ↓ -59%
UHC MCR ADV UHC MCR ADV $56.65 ↓ -59%
HEALTHNET MCARE HEALTHNET MCARE $56.65 ↓ -59%
NETWORK PROVIDERS- ALL PLANS NETWORK PROVIDERS- ALL PLANS $61.75 ↓ -56%
AH EMPLOYEE HEALTH PLAN - ALL PLANS AH EMPLOYEE HEALTH PLAN - ALL PLANS $62.32 ↓ -55%
OSCAR HEALTH PLAN- ALL PLANS OSCAR HEALTH PLAN- ALL PLANS $65.15 ↓ -53%
COVENTRY- ALL PLANS COVENTRY- ALL PLANS $67.98 ↓ -51%
AETNA-ALL PLANS AETNA-ALL PLANS $73.66 ↓ -47%
WESTERN GRWRS/PINNACLE - ALL PLANS WESTERN GRWRS/PINNACLE - ALL PLANS $78.74 ↓ -43%
UHC JLL CSP UHC JLL CSP $81.54 ↓ -41%
UHC ALL PAYER- ALL OTHER PLANS UHC ALL PAYER- ALL OTHER PLANS $81.54 ↓ -41%
KAISER MEDI-CAL IP/OP ONLY KAISER MEDI-CAL IP/OP ONLY $81.91 ↓ -41%
MEDI-CAL MEDI-CAL $81.91 ↓ -41%
UNIVERSAL IPA MCAL OP/PROFEE ONLY UNIVERSAL IPA MCAL OP/PROFEE ONLY $81.91 ↓ -41%
HEALTHNET- ALL OTHER PLANS HEALTHNET- ALL OTHER PLANS $82.54 ↓ -41%
BC MCAL BC MCAL $84.37 ↓ -39%
CENTIVO - ALL PLANS CENTIVO - ALL PLANS $84.98 ↓ -39%
CIGNA- ALL PLANS CIGNA- ALL PLANS $89.35 ↓ -36%
HEALTHNET MEDI-CAL HEALTHNET MEDI-CAL $100.50 ↓ -28%
KHS-KERN HLTH SYSTM MCAL KHS-KERN HLTH SYSTM MCAL $105.66 ↓ -24%
BLUE SHIELD EPN- ALL OTHER PLANS BLUE SHIELD EPN- ALL OTHER PLANS $217.42 ↑ +57%
BLUE SHIELD NON-EPN BLUE SHIELD NON-EPN $257.00 ↑ +85%
KLHP-KERN LEGACY EPO -ALL OTHER PLANS KLHP-KERN LEGACY EPO -ALL OTHER PLANS $257.00 ↑ +85%
BLUE CROSS NON-MCS- ALL OTHER PLANS BLUE CROSS NON-MCS- ALL OTHER PLANS $265.29 ↑ +91%
BLUE CROSS EXCHANGE BLUE CROSS EXCHANGE $266.87 ↑ +92%
KAISER MEDICARE IP/OP ONLY KAISER MEDICARE IP/OP ONLY $304.25 ↑ +119%
KAISER IP/OP ONLY- ALL OTHER PLANS KAISER IP/OP ONLY- ALL OTHER PLANS $523.31 ↑ +277%

Visitor-reported prices

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Puncture spinal lumbar diagnostic at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
Fresno Medical Center FRESNO $2,066.40 not published
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $743.29 $115.61 – $1,617.30
Antioch Medical Center ANTIOCH $2,066.40 not published
Redwood City Medical Center Redwood City $2,066.40 not published
Santa Clara Medical Center SANTA CLARA $2,066.40 not published
Baldwin Park Medical Center BALDWIN PARK $1,320.80 not published
Riverside Medical Center RIVERSIDE $1,320.80 not published
Fremont Medical Center FREMONT $2,066.40 not published

All California hospitals for this procedure →