Lower back MRI with contrast cost in San Francisco, CA
In San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA, 12 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of the lower back, without and then with contrast dye: from $1,220.94 to $6,946.00, with a median of $6,182.40. The lowest listed price is at Hayward Sisters Hospital — $4,961.46 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $3,783.24 at 100 hospitals.
Cash prices at 12 facilities across 11 cities for code 72158, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Feb 23, 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 | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hayward Sisters Hospital lowest Hayward, CA · (510) 782-6200 MR lumbar spine wo/w con | $1,220.94 | $4,069.80 | $346.17–$4,069.80 | 70% | Feb 23, 2026 source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - South San Francisco South San Francisco, CA · (650) 742-3200 MRI SPINAL CANAL LUMBAR W/O & W/CONTR MATRL | $6,182.40 | $11,040.00 | $476.00–$1,490.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Antioch Antioch, CA · (925) 813-6500 MRI SPINAL CANAL LUMBAR W/O & W/CONTR MATRL | $6,182.40 | $11,040.00 | $476.00–$1,490.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Leandro San Leandro, CA · (510) 454-1000 MRI SPINAL CANAL LUMBAR W/O & W/CONTR MATRL | $6,182.40 | $11,040.00 | $476.00–$1,490.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Francisco San Francisco, CA · (415) 833-2646 MRI SPINAL CANAL LUMBAR W/O & W/CONTR MATRL | $6,182.40 | $11,040.00 | $476.00–$1,490.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Oakland/Richmond Oakland, CA · (510) 752-1000 MRI SPINAL CANAL LUMBAR W/O & W/CONTR MATRL | $6,182.40 | $11,040.00 | $476.00–$1,490.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Walnut Creek Walnut Creek, CA · (925) 295-4000 MRI SPINAL CANAL LUMBAR W/O & W/CONTR MATRL | $6,182.40 | $11,040.00 | $476.00–$1,490.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Fremont Fremont, CA · (510) 784-4000 MRI SPINAL CANAL LUMBAR W/O & W/CONTR MATRL | $6,182.40 | $11,040.00 | $476.00–$1,490.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Redwood City Redwood City, CA · (650) 299-2000 MRI SPINAL CANAL LUMBAR W/O & W/CONTR MATRL | $6,182.40 | $11,040.00 | $476.00–$1,490.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Rafael San Rafael, CA · (415) 444-2000 MRI SPINAL CANAL LUMBAR W/O & W/CONTR MATRL | $6,182.40 | $11,040.00 | $476.00–$1,490.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley Pleasanton, CA · (925) 847-3000 MRI L-Spine WO/W Cont | $6,292.40 | $15,731.00 | — | 60% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Chinese Hospital Association San Francisco, CA · (415) 677-2480 MRI scan of lower spinal canal before and after contrast | $6,946.00 | $6,946.00 | $260.90–$12,502.80 | — | Jul 22, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $1,220.94, median $6,182.40, highest $6,946.00 — a 5.7× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 11 facilities here, median $6,182.40. 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 2 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 it is
This MRI of the lumbar spine takes one set of pictures without contrast dye and a second set after the dye is injected into a vein. The dye helps tell scar tissue from a new disc problem after back surgery and can show infection, inflammation or tumors.
What the price covers
The hospital price usually covers both sets of images; the contrast agent may appear as a separate line on some bills. The radiologist's reading is often billed separately.