Brain MRI with contrast cost in San Francisco, CA
In San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA, 26 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the brain, with and without contrast dye: from $1,157.31 to $8,334.00, with a median of $5,725.60. The lowest listed price is at St. Rose Hospital — $4,568.29 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $4,326.75 at 209 hospitals.
- The median here, $5,725.60, is 110% above the US median of $2,721.18.
- That is 16.1× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($356.43).
- San Francisco, CA ranks 5th of 5 metro areas in California by median, cheapest first.
- 12 of 26 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 26 facilities across 18 cities for code 70553, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Oct 31, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Feb 23, 2026 and Sep 30, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Rose Hospital lowest Hayward, CA · (510) 782-6200 MR head/brain wo/w con File of Feb 23, 2026 · source file | $1,157.31 | $3,857.70 | $344.78–$3,279.04 | 70% |
| Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley Pleasanton, CA · (925) 847-3000 MRI Brain WO/W Contrst File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $3,596.40 | $8,991.00 | — | 60% |
| Sequoia Hospital Redwood City, CA · (650) 369-5811 MR BRAIN WO AND W CON File of Sep 30, 2026 · source file | $4,088.51 | $11,985.00 | $446.18–$9,827.70 | 66% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Antioch Antioch, CA · (925) 813-6500 MRI BRAIN BRAIN STEM W/O W/CONTRAST MATERIAL File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $5,499.20 | $9,820.00 | $476.00–$1,490.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Leandro San Leandro, CA · (510) 454-1000 MRI BRAIN BRAIN STEM W/O W/CONTRAST MATERIAL File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $5,499.20 | $9,820.00 | $476.00–$1,490.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Francisco San Francisco, CA · (415) 833-2646 MRI BRAIN BRAIN STEM W/O W/CONTRAST MATERIAL File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $5,499.20 | $9,820.00 | $476.00–$1,490.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Redwood City Redwood City, CA · (650) 299-2000 MRI BRAIN BRAIN STEM W/O W/CONTRAST MATERIAL File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $5,499.20 | $9,820.00 | $476.00–$1,490.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Fnd Hospital - Richmond Campus Richmond, CA · (510) 752-1000 MRI BRAIN BRAIN STEM W/O W/CONTRAST MATERIAL File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $5,499.20 | $9,820.00 | $476.00–$1,490.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Walnut Creek Walnut Creek, CA · (925) 295-4000 MRI BRAIN BRAIN STEM W/O W/CONTRAST MATERIAL File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $5,499.20 | $9,820.00 | $476.00–$1,490.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Oakland/Richmond Oakland, CA · (510) 752-1000 MRI BRAIN BRAIN STEM W/O W/CONTRAST MATERIAL File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $5,499.20 | $9,820.00 | $476.00–$1,490.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Rafael San Rafael, CA · (415) 444-2000 MRI BRAIN BRAIN STEM W/O W/CONTRAST MATERIAL File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $5,499.20 | $9,820.00 | $476.00–$1,490.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - South San Francisco South San Francisco, CA · (650) 742-3200 MRI BRAIN BRAIN STEM W/O W/CONTRAST MATERIAL File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $5,499.20 | $9,820.00 | $476.00–$1,490.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Fremont Fremont, CA · (510) 784-4000 MRI BRAIN BRAIN STEM W/O W/CONTRAST MATERIAL File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $5,499.20 | $9,820.00 | $476.00–$1,490.00 | 44% |
| MarinHealth Medical Center Greenbrae, CA · (415) 925-7900 MRI SCAN OF BRAIN BEFORE AND AFTER CONTRAST File of Mar 26, 2026 · source file | $5,952.00 | $9,920.00 | $492.42–$4,593.00 | 40% |
| Chinese Hospital San Francisco, CA · (415) 677-2480 MRI scan of brain before and after contrast File of Jul 22, 2026 · source file | $6,946.00 | $6,946.00 | $260.90–$12,502.80 | — |
| Novato Community Hospital Novato, CA · (415) 209-1300 HCHG MRI BRAIN W STEM W AND WO CONTR File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $8,334.00 | $8,334.00 | — | — |
| Mills Health Center San Mateo, CA · (650) 696-5400 HCHG MRI BRAIN W STEM W AND WO CONTR File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $8,334.00 | $8,334.00 | — | — |
| Alta Bates Summit Medical Center - Alta Bates Camp Berkeley, CA · (510) 204-4444 HCHG MRI BRAIN W STEM W AND WO CONTR File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $8,334.00 | $8,334.00 | — | — |
| California Pacific Medical Center- Van Ness Campus San Francisco, CA · (415) 600-6000 HCHG MRI BRAIN W STEM W AND WO CONTR File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $8,334.00 | $8,334.00 | — | — |
| Alta Bates Summit Medical Center - Herrick Campus Berkeley, CA · (510) 204-4444 HCHG MRI BRAIN W STEM W AND WO CONTR File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $8,334.00 | $8,334.00 | — | — |
| Alta Bates Summit Medical Center-Summit Campus-Hawthorne Oakland, CA · (510) 655-4000 HCHG MRI BRAIN W STEM W AND WO CONTR File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $8,334.00 | $8,334.00 | — | — |
| Mills-Peninsula Medical Center Burlingame, CA · (650) 696-5400 HCHG MRI BRAIN W STEM W AND WO CONTR File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $8,334.00 | $8,334.00 | — | — |
| Eden Medical Center Castro Valley, CA · (510) 537-1234 HCHG MRI BRAIN W STEM W AND WO CONTR File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $8,334.00 | $8,334.00 | — | — |
| Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Oakland, CA · (510) 655-4000 HCHG MRI BRAIN W STEM W AND WO CONTR File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $8,334.00 | $8,334.00 | — | — |
| Sutter Delta Medical Center Antioch, CA · (925) 779-7200 HCHG MRI BRAIN W STEM W AND WO CONTR File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $8,334.00 | $8,334.00 | — | — |
| California Pacific Medical Ctr-Davies Campus Hospital San Francisco, CA · (415) 600-6000 HCHG MRI BRAIN W STEM W AND WO CONTR File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $8,334.00 | $8,334.00 | — | — |
Outpatient: lowest $1,157.31, median $5,725.60, highest $8,334.00 — a 7.2× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 24 facilities here, median $5,499.20. 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 3 of 14 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 brain MRI with contrast is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Brain MRI with contrast explained.