CT thoracic spine without contrast at Providence Little Company of Mary Med Center Torrance

4101 Torrance Blvd, Torrance, CA · Providence · · NPI 1003084211

Source: hospital's published price file ↗ · Published Apr 1, 2026 · Ingested Sep 11, 2026

$2,081.10

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.

$5,946.00

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.

$134.46 with Aetna vs $1,273.98 with Blue Shield — 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
Aetna Medicare Managed Care Plan $134.46 ↓ -94%
Humana Medicare Managed Care Plan $137.15 ↓ -93%
Blue Cross Anthem Vivity City Of La Other Commercial Plan $140.87 ↓ -93%
Caremore Medicare Managed Care Plan $147.91 ↓ -93%
Blue Cross Anthem Vivity Non City Of La Other Commercial Plan $158.66 ↓ -92%
La Care Health Plan Covered Ca Exchange $174.80 ↓ -92%
Unitedhealthcare All Commercial Plans $179.33 ↓ -91%
Unitedhealthcare Select/Navigate Hmo $179.33 ↓ -91%
Healthnet Ambetter Hmo $248.76 ↓ -88%
Healthnet Ambetter Ppo $287.75 ↓ -86%
Aetna All Commercial Plans $462.79 ↓ -78%
Blue Cross All Commercial Plans $828.85 ↓ -60%
Blue Shield Hmo $852.19 ↓ -59%
Blue Shield Medicare Managed Care Plan $1,010.00 ↓ -51%
Blue Shield Epn/Ifp Benefit Exchange $1,053.04 ↓ -49%
Blue Shield Tandem Ppo/Blue High Performance Ppo/Epo $1,141.99 ↓ -45%
Blue Shield Ppo/Epo $1,273.98 ↓ -39%

Visitor-reported prices

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CT thoracic spine without contrast at other California hospitals

Hospital City Cash price Negotiated range
St. John's Camarillo Hospital Camarillo $1,678.42 $135.12 – $2,988.96
Banner Lassen Medical Center Susanville $1,196.61 $21.27 – $2,039.91
Petaluma Valley Hospital Petaluma $5,058.18 $140.89 – $1,369.25
Arroyo Grande Hospital Santa Maria $3,010.56 $135.12 – $5,239.08
Mark Twain Medical Center San Andreas $4,496.84 $178.84 – $1,455.30
French Hospital San Luis Obispo $2,426.48 $113.94 – $1,768.00
Mercy Hospitals – Bakersfield Bakersfield $1,679.89 $135.12 – $3,622.40
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield $1,661.78 $135.12 – $3,577.12

All California hospitals for this procedure →