Prices at 5 hospitals in San Francisco, CA, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $6,841 — 210% above the US median ($2,210), roughly 25.4× the Medicare rate.
Lowest cash prices
| Hospital | Location | Cash | Insurer | CMS rating | ER wait | Readmit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital-San Francisco | San Francisco, CA | $4,995 | $500 | ★ 4/5 | — | — |
| California Pacific Medical Center-Van Ness Campus | San Francisco, CA | $5,606 | $3,227 | ★ 3/5 | 198 min | — |
| California Pacific Medical Ctr-Davies Campus Hosp | San Francisco, CA | $8,076 | $3,227 | ★ 3/5 | 160 min | — |
| UCSF Health Saint Francis Hospital | San Francisco, CA | $8,182 | $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 $6,841 — about 25.4× the Medicare rate ($270). High vs Medicare. A fair cash price is usually within ~2× Medicare ($539).
💡 Asking for the cash price instead of the $8,129 list price could save about $1,288 (16%).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mohammad Fakhri, M.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 67 |
| Xin Wu, M.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 67 |
| Salil Soman, MD | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 64 |
| Joshua Rabang, MD | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 52 |
| Elizabeth George, MD | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 40 |
| Christine Glastonbury, MB, BS | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 34 |
| Jeffrey Huang, MD | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 30 |
| Amar Purandare, MD | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 30 |
| Andreas Rauschecker, M.D., PH.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 25 |
| Javier Villanueva-Meyer | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 24 |
| Jared Narvid, M.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 23 |
| Orit Glenn, M.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 19 |
All MRI of the lower back (lumbar spine) prices in California → · All MRI of the lower back (lumbar spine) prices (national) · All hospitals in San Francisco