Prices at 5 hospitals in San Francisco, CA, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $6,646 — 206% above the US median ($2,170), roughly 24.7× the Medicare rate.
Lowest cash prices
| Hospital | Location | Cash | Insurer | CMS rating | ER wait | Readmit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital-San Francisco | San Francisco, CA | $5,057 | $500 | ★ 4/5 | — | — |
| California Pacific Medical Center-Van Ness Campus | San Francisco, CA | $6,099 | $3,322 | ★ 3/5 | 198 min | — |
| California Pacific Medical Ctr-Davies Campus Hosp | San Francisco, CA | $7,192 | $3,322 | ★ 3/5 | 160 min | — |
| UCSF Health Saint Francis Hospital | San Francisco, CA | $9,696 | $524 | ★ 3/5 | 138 min | — |
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 $6,646 — about 24.7× the Medicare rate ($269). High vs Medicare. A fair cash price is usually within ~2× Medicare ($538).
💡 Asking for the cash price instead of the $8,111 list price could save about $1,466 (18%).
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 Francisco
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xin Wu, M.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 366 |
| Nathan Mortensen, D.O. | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 358 |
| Javier Villanueva-Meyer | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 334 |
| Mohammad Fakhri, M.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 314 |
| Elizabeth George, MD | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 302 |
| Derk Purcell, M.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 301 |
| Christine Glastonbury, MB, BS | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 269 |
| Salil Soman, MD | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 267 |
| Orit Glenn, M.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 256 |
| Joshua Rabang, MD | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 255 |
| Amy Huang, MD | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 253 |
| Jessica Tan, M.D | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 251 |
All MRI of the brain prices in California → · All MRI of the brain prices (national) · All hospitals in San Francisco