Prices at 5 hospitals in San Francisco, CA, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $963 — 224% above the US median ($297), roughly 23.8× the Medicare rate.
Lowest cash prices
| Hospital | Location | Cash | Insurer | CMS rating | ER wait | Readmit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital-San Francisco | San Francisco, CA | $554 | $149 | ★ 4/5 | — | — |
| California Pacific Medical Center-Van Ness Campus | San Francisco, CA | $960 | $151 | ★ 3/5 | 198 min | — |
| California Pacific Medical Ctr-Davies Campus Hosp | San Francisco, CA | $966 | $151 | ★ 3/5 | 160 min | — |
| UCSF Health Saint Francis Hospital | San Francisco, CA | $1,423 | $156 | ★ 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 $963 — about 23.8× 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 $15 (2%).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terry Lynch, MD | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 243 |
| Kevin Mcgill | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 218 |
| Ellen Chang, MD | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 213 |
| Daria Motamedi, M.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 186 |
| Nathan Mortensen, D.O. | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 179 |
| Michael Hope, MD | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 144 |
| Kevin Sweetwood, MD | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 117 |
| Andrew Soroka, MD | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 105 |
| Jessica Hightower, M.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 48 |
| Jyoti Narayanswami | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 47 |
| Andrew Vinson, M.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 44 |
| William Harvey, M.D. | Diagnostic Radiology | San Francisco, CA | 29 |
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 San Francisco