Upper GI series (barium) cost in California

Prices at 179 hospitals in California, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $678 — 20% above the US median ($566), roughly 5.3× the Medicare rate.

Lowest cash prices

HospitalLocationCashInsurerCMS ratingER waitReadmit
Eisenhower Medical Center Rancho Mirage, CA $112 $226 ★ 4/5 259 min —
Adventist Health Tulare Tulare, CA $136 $178 ★ 3/5 198 min —
Kaweah Health Medical Center Visalia, CA $211 $301 ★ 3/5 254 min —
Paradise Valley Hospital National City, CA $224 $224 ★ 3/5 188 min —
Saint Francis Medical Center Lynwood, CA $224 $224 ★ 3/5 238 min —
Encino Hospital Medical Center Encino, CA $224 $224 ★ 3/5 134 min —
Garden Grove Hospital & Medical Center Garden Grove, CA $224 $224 ★ 2/5 134 min —
West Anaheim Medical Center Anaheim, CA $224 $224 ★ 2/5 190 min —
Huntington Beach Hospital Huntington Beach, CA $224 $224 ★ 1/5 158 min —
La Palma Intercommunity Hospital La Palma, CA $224 $224 ★ 3/5 204 min —
Chino Valley Medical Center Chino, CA $224 $224 ★ 4/5 174 min —
San Dimas Community Hospital San Dimas, CA $224 $224 ★ 2/5 147 min —
Desert Valley Hospital Victorville, CA $224 $224 ★ 3/5 167 min —
Sherman Oaks Hospital Sherman Oaks, CA $224 $224 ★ 2/5 140 min —
Montclair Hospital Medical Center Montclair, CA $224 $224 ★ 3/5 153 min —
Shasta Regional Medical Center Redding, CA $224 $224 ★ 2/5 156 min —
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield, CA $246 $251 ★ 3/5 240 min —
Colorado River Medical Center Needles, CA $265 — — 121 min —
Community Memorial Hospital-Ojai Ojai, CA $267 $454 — 114 min —
San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital Banning, CA $268 $224 ★ 3/5 194 min —
Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego, CA $289 $226 ★ 4/5 194 min —
Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla La Jolla, CA $289 $226 ★ 5/5 186 min —
Scripps Green Hospital La Jolla, CA $289 $226 ★ 5/5 — —
Scripps Memorial Hospital-Encinitas Encinitas, CA $289 $226 ★ 4/5 200 min —
L a Downtown Medical Center Los Angeles, CA $296 — ★ 3/5 — —

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)

Chargemaster (list price)
$1,215
Cash / self-pay
$678
Insurer-negotiated
$250
Medicare pays
$128
$266$1,651
Median cash $678  ·  Medicare $128  ·  bar = typical cash range (10th–90th percentile)
Is this a fair price?
1× Medicarefair ≈2×5×+

Typical cash price here is $678 — about 5.3× the Medicare rate ($128). High vs Medicare. A fair cash price is usually within ~2× Medicare ($257).

💡 Asking for the cash price instead of the $1,215 list price could save about $537 (44%).

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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.

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Upper GI series (barium) cost in other states

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