Punch skin biopsy cost in San Francisco, CA
In San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA, 21 hospitals list a cash price for skin biopsy, punch, one lesion: from $1,019.00 to $12,291.00, with a median of $1,092.00. The lowest listed price is at Mills-Peninsula Medical Center and 8 other hospitals — $73.00 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $722.80 at 142 hospitals.
- The median here, $1,092.00, is 178% above the US median of $393.50.
- That is 2.6× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($415.32).
- San Francisco, CA ranks 5th of 5 metro areas in California by median, cheapest first.
- 10 of 21 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 21 facilities across 14 cities for code 11104, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Oct 31, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Mar 26, 2026 and Jul 22, 2026.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mills-Peninsula Medical Center lowest Burlingame, CA · (650) 696-5400 HCHG PUNCH BX SKIN SINGLE LESION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,019.00 | $1,019.00 | — | — |
| Alta Bates Summit Medical Center-Summit Campus-Hawthorne lowest Oakland, CA · (510) 655-4000 HCHG PUNCH BX SKIN SINGLE LESION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,019.00 | $1,019.00 | — | — |
| Alta Bates Summit Medical Center lowest Oakland, CA · (510) 655-4000 HCHG PUNCH BX SKIN SINGLE LESION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,019.00 | $1,019.00 | — | — |
| Alta Bates Summit Medical Center - Alta Bates Camp lowest Berkeley, CA · (510) 204-4444 HCHG PUNCH BX SKIN SINGLE LESION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,019.00 | $1,019.00 | — | — |
| California Pacific Medical Ctr-Davies Campus Hospital lowest San Francisco, CA · (415) 600-6000 HCHG PUNCH BX SKIN SINGLE LESION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,019.00 | $1,019.00 | — | — |
| California Pacific Medical Center- Van Ness Campus lowest San Francisco, CA · (415) 600-6000 HCHG PUNCH BX SKIN SINGLE LESION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,019.00 | $1,019.00 | — | — |
| Mills Health Center lowest San Mateo, CA · (650) 696-5400 HCHG PUNCH BX SKIN SINGLE LESION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,019.00 | $1,019.00 | — | — |
| Sutter Delta Medical Center lowest Antioch, CA · (925) 779-7200 HCHG PUNCH BX SKIN SINGLE LESION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,019.00 | $1,019.00 | — | — |
| Alta Bates Summit Medical Center - Herrick Campus lowest Berkeley, CA · (510) 204-4444 HCHG PUNCH BX SKIN SINGLE LESION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,019.00 | $1,019.00 | — | — |
| Chinese Hospital San Francisco, CA · (415) 677-2480 Punch biopsy, first skin growth File of Jul 22, 2026 · source file | $1,058.00 | $1,058.00 | $160.74–$3,218.99 | — |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Redwood City Redwood City, CA · (650) 299-2000 PUNCH BIOPSY SKIN SINGLE LESION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,092.00 | $1,950.00 | $483.00–$1,512.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Oakland/Richmond Oakland, CA · (510) 752-1000 PUNCH BIOPSY SKIN SINGLE LESION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,092.00 | $1,950.00 | $483.00–$1,512.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Leandro San Leandro, CA · (510) 454-1000 PUNCH BIOPSY SKIN SINGLE LESION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,092.00 | $1,950.00 | $483.00–$1,512.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Fremont Fremont, CA · (510) 784-4000 PUNCH BIOPSY SKIN SINGLE LESION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,092.00 | $1,950.00 | $483.00–$1,512.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Rafael San Rafael, CA · (415) 444-2000 PUNCH BIOPSY SKIN SINGLE LESION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,092.00 | $1,950.00 | $483.00–$1,512.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Fnd Hospital - Richmond Campus Richmond, CA · (510) 752-1000 PUNCH BIOPSY SKIN SINGLE LESION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,092.00 | $1,950.00 | $483.00–$1,512.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Francisco San Francisco, CA · (415) 833-2646 PUNCH BIOPSY SKIN SINGLE LESION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,092.00 | $1,950.00 | $483.00–$1,512.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - South San Francisco South San Francisco, CA · (650) 742-3200 PUNCH BIOPSY SKIN SINGLE LESION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,092.00 | $1,950.00 | $483.00–$1,512.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Antioch Antioch, CA · (925) 813-6500 PUNCH BIOPSY SKIN SINGLE LESION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,092.00 | $1,950.00 | $483.00–$1,512.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Walnut Creek Walnut Creek, CA · (925) 295-4000 PUNCH BIOPSY SKIN SINGLE LESION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,092.00 | $1,950.00 | $483.00–$1,512.00 | 44% |
| MarinHealth Medical Center Greenbrae, CA · (415) 925-7900 PUNCH BIOPSY; FIRST SKIN GROWTH File of Mar 26, 2026 · source file | $12,291.00 | $20,485.00 | $573.77–$5,304.00 | 40% |
Outpatient: lowest $1,019.00, median $1,092.00, highest $12,291.00 — a 12.1× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 19 facilities here, median $1,092.00. Inpatient and outpatient prices are not comparable and are kept on separate pages: the inpatient charge covers admission, not the same purchase.
Cash or insurance?
At 11 of 12 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at none is it below every plan's rate. If you have insurance but have not met your deductible, you usually pay your plan's negotiated rate, which falls somewhere in the "Insurers pay" column. Paying cash can cost less, but a cash payment usually does not count toward your deductible. Ask the hospital for both numbers before you book.
What punch skin biopsy is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Punch skin biopsy explained.