Prices at 5 hospitals in San Diego, CA, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $1,050 — 119% above the US median ($480), roughly 7.9× the Medicare rate.
Lowest cash prices
| Hospital | Location | Cash | Insurer | CMS rating | ER wait | Readmit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UC San Diego Health Hillcrest-Hillcrest Med Ctr | San Diego, CA | $614 | $497 | ★ 5/5 | 259 min | — |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital-San Diego | San Diego, CA | $1,050 | $282 | ★ 4/5 | — | — |
| Sharp Memorial Hospital | San Diego, CA | $1,157 | $961 | ★ 4/5 | 197 min | — |
| Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital | San Diego, CA | $1,157 | $926 | — | — | — |
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 October 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)
Typical cash price here is $1,050 — about 7.9× the Medicare rate ($133). High vs Medicare. A fair cash price is usually within ~2× Medicare ($266).
💡 Asking for the cash price instead of the $1,543 list price could save about $493 (32%).
Rough estimate from this procedure’s median insurer-negotiated rate. Your actual cost depends on your plan — confirm with your insurer.
Doctors who perform this in San Diego
Clinicians who reported the most Medicare volume for this service locally. This reflects Original Medicare activity only and is a volume signal, not a quality ranking.
| Clinician | Specialty | Location | Medicare services |
|---|---|---|---|
| Julie Dierksheide, MD | Critical Care (Intensivists) | San Diego, CA | 25 |
| William Fisher, M.D. | Critical Care (Intensivists) | San Diego, CA | 21 |
| Dina Bates, MD | Critical Care (Intensivists) | San Diego, CA | 19 |
| Michael Tripp, M.D. | Critical Care (Intensivists) | San Diego, CA | 18 |
| Leland Beggs, M.D. | Critical Care (Intensivists) | San Diego, CA | 14 |
| Houman Dahi, MD | Pulmonary Disease | San Diego, CA | 13 |
| Walter Chou, M.D. | Pulmonary Disease | San Diego, CA | 13 |
| Soud Sediqe, M.D. | Pulmonary Disease | San Diego, CA | 13 |
| David Bruner, MD | Emergency Medicine | San Diego, CA | 13 |
| David Riker, MD | Pulmonary Disease | San Diego, CA | 12 |
| Jack Thompson | Emergency Medicine | San Diego, CA | 11 |
All Breathing tube insertion (intubation) prices in California → · All Breathing tube insertion (intubation) prices (national) · All hospitals in San Diego