Breast MRI, both breasts cost in San Jose, CA
In San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, 3 hospitals list a cash price for MRI of both breasts, without and then with contrast dye (both sides): from $2,430.25 to $6,238.40, with a median of $6,238.40. The lowest listed price is at El Camino Hospital — $3,808.15 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $2,437.65 at 16 hospitals.
Cash prices at 3 facilities across 3 cities for code 77049, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Apr 1, 2026 and Apr 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 Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Camino Hospital both sides lowest Mountain View, CA · (650) 940-7000 HC MRI BREAST W/WO CONTRAST, BILATERAL | $2,430.25 | $9,721.00 | — | 75% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Jose both sides San Jose, CA · (408) 972-7000 MRI BREAST WITHOUT&WITH CONTRAST W/CAD BILATERAL | $6,238.40 | $11,140.00 | $511.00–$1,600.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Santa Clara both sides Santa Clara, CA · (408) 236-6400 MRI BREAST WITHOUT&WITH CONTRAST W/CAD BILATERAL | $6,238.40 | $11,140.00 | $511.00–$1,600.00 | 44% | — source file |
Both sides : lowest $2,430.25, median $6,238.40, highest $6,238.40 — a 2.6× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 3 facilities here, median $6,238.40. 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 0 of 2 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
A breast MRI takes pictures of both breasts before and after contrast dye is injected into a vein, and the code includes computer-aided analysis of the images. It is used to screen women at high risk of breast cancer and to check the extent of a cancer that has already been found.
What the price covers
The hospital price usually covers the imaging of both breasts and the computer analysis; the contrast agent may appear as a separate line. The radiologist's reading is often billed separately.