HIDA scan cost in San Diego, CA
In San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA, 18 hospitals list a cash price for HIDA scan: nuclear imaging of the liver, bile ducts and gallbladder: from $230.75 to $2,762.25, with a median of $1,277.87. The lowest listed price is at Scripps Green Hospital and 4 other hospitals — $1,047.12 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $1,778.32 at 195 hospitals.
- The median here, $1,277.87, is about the same as the US median of $1,299.64.
- That is 3.1× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($408.43).
- San Diego, CA ranks 2nd of 5 metro areas in California by median, cheapest first.
- Every hospital here lists a cash price below its full list price.
Cash prices at 18 facilities across 11 cities for code 78226, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 29, 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 Hepatobil Sys W/O Pharm File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $230.75 | $923.01 | $73.84–$1,285.43 | 75% |
| Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla lowest La Jolla, CA · (858) 626-4123 HC Hepatobil Sys W/O Pharm File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $230.75 | $923.01 | $73.84–$1,285.43 | 75% |
| Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista lowest San Diego, CA · (619) 294-8111 HC Hepatobil Sys W/O Pharm File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $230.75 | $923.01 | $73.84–$1,285.43 | 75% |
| Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas lowest Encinitas, CA · (760) 753-6501 HC Hepatobil Sys W/O Pharm File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $230.75 | $923.01 | $73.84–$1,285.43 | 75% |
| Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego lowest San Diego, CA · (619) 294-8111 HC Hepatobil Sys W/O Pharm File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $230.75 | $923.01 | $73.84–$1,285.43 | 75% |
| Paradise Valley Hospital National City, CA · (619) 470-4321 NM HEPATOBILIARY IMAG File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $511.00 | $2,613.25 | $261.91–$2,613.25 | 80% |
| Tri-City Medical Center Oceanside, CA · (760) 724-8411 NM Hepatobiliary Imaging File of May 29, 2026 · source file | $892.38 | $1,487.30 | $293.92–$1,173.48 | 40% |
| Palomar Medical Center Escondido Escondido, CA NM Cholescintigram File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,179.64 | $1,966.06 | — | 40% |
| Palomar Medical Center Poway Poway, CA · (858) 485-6511 NM Cholescintigram File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,179.64 | $1,966.06 | — | 40% |
| UC San Diego Medical Center San Diego, CA · (619) 543-6222 Imaging Of Liver And Bile Duct System File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,376.10 | $2,502.00 | $291.01–$3,377.70 | 45% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Marcos San Marcos, CA · (760) 528-6295 HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,534.00 | $2,950.00 | $365.00–$1,085.00 | 48% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Diego - Zion San Diego, CA · (619) 528-5000 HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,534.00 | $2,950.00 | $365.00–$1,085.00 | 48% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Diego - Clairemont Mesa San Diego, CA · (619) 528-5000 HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,534.00 | $2,950.00 | $365.00–$1,085.00 | 48% |
| Grossmont Hospital La Mesa, CA · (619) 465-0711 HC HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER - NM LIVER FUNCTION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $2,061.75 | $2,749.00 | $1.00–$2,199.20 | 25% |
| Sharp Memorial Hospital San Diego, CA · (858) 939-3400 HC HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER - NM LIVER FUNCTION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $2,061.75 | $2,749.00 | $1.00–$2,474.10 | 25% |
| Sharp Coronado Hospital and Healthcare Center Coronado, CA · (619) 435-6251 HC HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER - NM LIVER FUNCTION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $2,061.75 | $2,749.00 | $384.86–$2,474.10 | 25% |
| Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center Chula Vista, CA · (619) 502-5800 HC HEPATOBILIARY SYST IMAGING INCLUDING GALLBLADDER - NM LIVER FUNCTION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $2,061.75 | $2,749.00 | $1.00–$2,694.02 | 25% |
| Rady Children's Hospital - San Diego San Diego, CA · (858) 576-1700 Rch Nm - Hepatobiliary File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $2,762.25 | $3,683.00 | — | 25% |
Outpatient: lowest $230.75, median $1,277.87, highest $2,762.25 — a 12.0× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 17 facilities here, median $1,376.10. 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 12 of 15 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 HIDA scan is, what the price covers and why prices differ: HIDA scan explained.