Emergency department visit (level 2) cost in San Francisco, CA

Prices at 5 hospitals in San Francisco, CA, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $1,480 — 322% above the US median ($351), roughly 36.6× the Medicare rate.

Lowest cash prices

HospitalLocationCashInsurerCMS ratingER waitReadmit
Kaiser Foundation Hospital-San Francisco San Francisco, CA $872 $1,175 ★ 4/5 14.7%
California Pacific Medical Center-Van Ness Campus San Francisco, CA $1,433 $222 ★ 3/5 184 min 15.0%
California Pacific Medical Ctr-Davies Campus Hosp San Francisco, CA $1,527 $222 ★ 3/5 162 min 15.2%
UCSF Health Saint Francis Hospital San Francisco, CA $2,301 $233 ★ 3/5 140 min 14.7%

CMS rating = overall hospital star rating (1–5); ER wait = median minutes in the emergency department; Readmit = 30-day readmission rate (lower is better) — all from Medicare’s Care Compare; “—” = not reported. Data last updated June 2026. Prices from hospitals’ machine-readable files (45 CFR §180); Medicare benchmark from CMS PFS/CLFS/IPPS. Prices below 15% of the median are excluded as likely partial or mis-coded charges. Estimates — confirm with the hospital. Report an incorrect price.

Price comparison (median)

Chargemaster (list price)
$1,543
Cash / self-pay
$1,480
Insurer-negotiated
$222
Medicare pays
$40
$1,041$2,069
Median cash $1,480  ·  Medicare $40  ·  bar = typical cash range (10th–90th percentile)
Is this a fair price?
1× Medicarefair ≈2×5×+

Typical cash price here is $1,480 — about 36.6× the Medicare rate ($40). High vs Medicare. A fair cash price is usually within ~2× Medicare ($81).

💡 Asking for the cash price instead of the $1,543 list price could save about $63 (4%).

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Rough estimate from this procedure’s median insurer-negotiated rate. Your actual cost depends on your plan — confirm with your insurer.

All Emergency department visit (level 2) prices in California → · All Emergency department visit (level 2) prices (national) · All hospitals in San Francisco