Prices at 5 hospitals in San Diego, CA, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $2,600 — 43% above the US median ($1,820), roughly 13.3× the Medicare rate.
Lowest cash prices
| Hospital | Location | Cash | Insurer | CMS rating | ER wait | Readmit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scripps Mercy Hospital | San Diego, CA | $913 | $307 | ★ 4/5 | 194 min | — |
| UC San Diego Health Hillcrest-Hillcrest Med Ctr | San Diego, CA | $1,774 | $1,509 | ★ 5/5 | 259 min | — |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital-San Diego | San Diego, CA | $2,600 | $270 | ★ 4/5 | — | — |
| Sharp Memorial Hospital | San Diego, CA | $3,036 | $2,469 | ★ 4/5 | 197 min | — |
| Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital | San Diego, CA | $3,036 | $2,702 | — | — | — |
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 $2,600 — about 13.3× the Medicare rate ($195). High vs Medicare. A fair cash price is usually within ~2× Medicare ($391).
💡 Asking for the cash price instead of the $4,048 list price could save about $1,448 (36%).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen Dorros, M.D. | Interventional Radiology | San Diego, CA | 335 |
| David Lee, M.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | San Diego, CA | 270 |
| Glenn Tsukada, M.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | San Diego, CA | 265 |
| Julie Marek Bykowski, M.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | San Diego, CA | 240 |
| Shota Yamamoto, MD | Diagnostic Radiology | San Diego, CA | 229 |
| James Cooper, M.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | San Diego, CA | 213 |
| Mark Franke, MD | Diagnostic Radiology | San Diego, CA | 186 |
| Shanoe Cutts, MD | Diagnostic Radiology | San Diego, CA | 182 |
| Ross Schwartzberg, M.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | San Diego, CA | 179 |
| Scott Atkins, M.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | San Diego, CA | 175 |
| Joshua Rosenbaum, MD | Diagnostic Radiology | San Diego, CA | 174 |
| Jason Handwerker, M.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | San Diego, CA | 158 |
All MRI of the brain without contrast prices in California → · All MRI of the brain without contrast prices (national) · All hospitals in San Diego