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Cash prices California Outpatient

Nuclear stress test cost in California without insurance

In California, the median cash price for Nuclear stress test is $4,029.00 across 186 hospitals, from $809.00 to $33,948.57. The lowest is at San Antonio Regional Hospital (Upland). The US median is $3,279.74.

California law (Health and Safety Code §127405): if you are uninsured or have high medical costs and your family income is at or below 400% of the federal poverty level, a hospital may not expect you to pay more than it would expect from Medicare or Medi-Cal, whichever is greater. That can be less than the cash prices below; ask the hospital for its discount payment policy. A separate physician fee may still apply. Other states' laws.

A nuclear stress test takes pictures of blood flow to the heart at rest and after exercise or a medicine that stresses the heart, using a small amount of a radioactive tracer. Its price is split across several codes: the imaging (78452), the stress test itself (93015, or its parts), and the tracer. The listed price of the imaging code alone is only one piece of the bill. If you have chest pain, severe shortness of breath or fainting right now, call 911 instead of scheduling a test.

Collected Oct 25, 2026 One price per hospital: its lowest outpatient cash price for the code

Nuclear stress test prices in California by type

78452 is the imaging part of a nuclear stress test and is used in the state table. 93015 is the treadmill or drug stress test with its supervision and report, and 93017 is the tracing only, the hospital charge. 93351 is a stress echocardiogram, an alternative that uses ultrasound instead of a tracer.

ProcedureHospitalsRangeMedianUS median
Nuclear stress test Nuclear stress test imaging (SPECT), rest and stress studies · code 78452 186 $809.00–$33,948.57 $4,029.00 $3,279.74
Treadmill stress test Treadmill or drug stress test with ECG, supervision and report · code 93015 23 $57.43–$2,097.33 $270.40 $380.80
Stress test (hospital charge) Exercise stress test, tracing only, the hospital charge · code 93017 192 $124.00–$6,288.60 $1,411.70 $811.75
Stress echocardiogram Stress echocardiogram, complete, including the stress test and supervision · code 93351 128 $258.00–$11,220.00 $2,806.19 $1,671.04
Procedure The service and its billing code (CPT or HCPCS). Opens the comparison of every hospital that prices it. More
Hospitals How many hospitals publish a cash price for this code here. Each hospital counts once, at its lowest outpatient cash price.
Middle 80% Cash prices of most hospitals: a tenth of hospitals charge less than the first number (P10), a tenth charge more than the second (P90). More
Median The middle cash price: half of the hospitals charge less, half charge more. One price per hospital. More
US median The median cash price across all US hospitals that publish one for this code.

Outpatient cash prices in California. Each hospital counts once, at its lowest cash price for the code; prices for both sides of the body and inpatient prices are not mixed in. Pick a procedure to compare every hospital in the state.

Lowest Nuclear stress test prices in California

Nuclear stress test cost by metro area in California

Nuclear stress test cost in other states

Paying cash: what to do

  • Ask for the total: imaging, stress test, tracer and the cardiologist's reading. The imaging code is only one piece.
  • Ask whether a stress echo would answer your doctor's question; it usually costs less and uses no radiation.
  • Cardiology offices often charge less than the hospital outpatient department for the same test.