Occipital nerve block cost in San Diego, CA
In San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA, 12 hospitals list a cash price for occipital nerve block (injection for headaches): from $226.45 to $878.80, with a median of $441.55. The lowest listed price is at Scripps Green Hospital — $215.10 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $878.80 at 141 hospitals.
- The median here, $441.55, is 18% below the US median of $540.00.
- That is 1.4× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($313.60).
- San Diego, CA has the lowest median of 5 metro areas in California with at least 10 hospitals pricing this code.
- Every hospital here lists a cash price below its full list price.
Cash prices at 12 facilities across 6 cities for code 64405, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Mar 30, 2026 and Sep 1, 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 Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scripps Green Hospital lowest La Jolla, CA · (858) 554-3600 HC Inject Great Occip Nerve File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $226.45 | $905.81 | $45.44–$986.98 | 75% |
| Rady Children's Hospital - San Diego San Diego, CA · (858) 576-1700 Rch Njx Aa&/Strd Gr Ocpl Nrv File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $243.00 | $324.00 | — | 25% |
| Paradise Valley Hospital National City, CA · (619) 470-4321 ANS OCC NERVE BLOCK File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $392.00 | $938.00 | $90.25–$938.00 | 58% |
| Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas Encinitas, CA · (760) 753-6501 HC Inject Great Occip Nerve File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $441.55 | $1,766.22 | $45.44–$1,589.60 | 75% |
| Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista San Diego, CA · (619) 294-8111 HC Inject Great Occip Nerve File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $441.55 | $1,766.22 | $45.44–$1,589.60 | 75% |
| Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla La Jolla, CA · (858) 626-4123 HC Inject Great Occip Nerve File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $441.55 | $1,766.22 | $45.44–$1,589.60 | 75% |
| Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego San Diego, CA · (619) 294-8111 HC Inject Great Occip Nerve File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $441.55 | $1,766.22 | $45.44–$1,589.60 | 75% |
| Tri-City Medical Center Oceanside, CA · (760) 724-8411 CITY IR INJ ANES OCCIPITAL NERVE File of May 29, 2026 · source file | $461.41 | $769.01 | $63.55–$6,640.00 | 40% |
| Tri-City Medical Center Oceanside, CA · (760) 724-8411 64405-Inject Nerve Block Great Occipital File of May 29, 2026 · source file | $514.19 | $856.98 | $63.55–$3,004.00 | 40% |
| UC San Diego Medical Center San Diego, CA · (619) 543-6222 Injection of anesthetic agent and/or steroid into greater occipital nerve of upper neck and back of head File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $695.75 | $1,265.00 | $72.20–$5,480.00 | 45% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Diego - Clairemont Mesa San Diego, CA · (619) 528-5000 INJECTION AA&/STRD GREATER OCCIPITAL NERVE File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $878.80 | $1,690.00 | $293.00–$871.00 | 48% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Diego - Zion San Diego, CA · (619) 528-5000 INJECTION AA&/STRD GREATER OCCIPITAL NERVE File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $878.80 | $1,690.00 | $293.00–$871.00 | 48% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Marcos San Marcos, CA · (760) 528-6295 INJECTION AA&/STRD GREATER OCCIPITAL NERVE File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $878.80 | $1,690.00 | $293.00–$871.00 | 48% |
| UC San Diego Medical Center San Diego, CA · (619) 543-6222 Injection of anesthetic agent and/or steroid into greater occipital nerve of upper neck and back of head File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $2,856.15 | $5,193.00 | $72.20–$7,757.98 | 45% |
Outpatient: lowest $226.45, median $441.55, highest $878.80 — a 3.9× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 11 facilities here, median $441.55. 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 8 of 11 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 occipital nerve block is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Occipital nerve block explained.