Prices at 8 hospitals in Sacramento, CA, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $470 — 58% above the US median ($297), roughly 11.6× the Medicare rate.
Lowest cash prices
| Hospital | Location | Cash | Insurer | CMS rating | ER wait | Readmit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercy General Hospital | Sacramento, CA | $256 | $154 | ★ 3/5 | 170 min | — |
| Shriners Hospitals for Children Northern Calif | Sacramento, CA | $329 | $56 | — | — | — |
| Methodist Hospital of Sacramento | Sacramento, CA | $338 | $165 | ★ 3/5 | 185 min | — |
| University of California Davis Medical Center | Sacramento, CA | $385 | $28 | ★ 4/5 | 328 min | — |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital-Sacramento | Sacramento, CA | $554 | $149 | ★ 4/5 | — | — |
| Kaiser Foundation Hosp So Sacramento | Sacramento, CA | $554 | $149 | ★ 2/5 | — | — |
| Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento | Sacramento, CA | $966 | — | ★ 4/5 | 192 min | — |
| Sutter Center for Psychiatry | Sacramento, CA | $966 | — | — | — | — |
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 $470 — about 11.6× the Medicare rate ($40). High vs Medicare. A fair cash price is usually within ~2× Medicare ($81).
💡 Asking for the cash price instead of the $978 list price could save about $508 (52%).
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 Sacramento
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 Wong, M.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | Sacramento, CA | 538 |
| Cyrus Bateni, M.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | Sacramento, CA | 523 |
| Mark Davidian, M.D. | Interventional Radiology | Sacramento, CA | 406 |
| David Chen, M.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | Sacramento, CA | 392 |
| Azad Ghassemi, M.D | Diagnostic Radiology | Sacramento, CA | 377 |
| Andrew Lee, D.O. | Diagnostic Radiology | Sacramento, CA | 337 |
| Kaleford Hong, MD | Diagnostic Radiology | Sacramento, CA | 291 |
| Sergei Romanov, M.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | Sacramento, CA | 238 |
| Arthur Dublin, M.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | Sacramento, CA | 201 |
| Lewis Dudley, M.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | Sacramento, CA | 187 |
| Chirag Patel, M.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | Sacramento, CA | 172 |
| Scott Foster, MD | Diagnostic Radiology | Sacramento, CA | 154 |
All X-ray of the lower back (lumbar spine) (2 views) prices in California → · All X-ray of the lower back (lumbar spine) (2 views) prices (national) · All hospitals in Sacramento