X-ray of the skull cost in San Francisco, CA

Prices at 5 hospitals in San Francisco, CA, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $931 — 218% above the US median ($293), roughly 23.4× the Medicare rate.

Lowest cash prices

HospitalLocationCashInsurerCMS ratingER waitReadmit
California Pacific Medical Center-Van Ness Campus San Francisco, CA $817 $151 ★ 3/5 198 min —
Kaiser Foundation Hospital-San Francisco San Francisco, CA $843 $149 ★ 4/5 — —
California Pacific Medical Ctr-Davies Campus Hosp San Francisco, CA $1,019 $151 ★ 3/5 160 min —
UCSF Health Saint Francis Hospital San Francisco, CA $1,228 $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)

Chargemaster (list price)
$1,124
Cash / self-pay
$931
Insurer-negotiated
$151
Medicare pays
$40
$825$1,165
Median cash $931  ·  Medicare $40  ·  bar = typical cash range (10th–90th percentile)
Is this a fair price?
1× Medicarefair ≈2×5×+

Typical cash price here is $931 — about 23.4× the Medicare rate ($40). High vs Medicare. A fair cash price is usually within ~2× Medicare ($80).

💡 Asking for the cash price instead of the $1,124 list price could save about $193 (17%).

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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.

All X-ray of the skull prices in California → · All X-ray of the skull prices (national) · All hospitals in San Francisco