Lead test cost in San Francisco, CA
In San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA, 17 hospitals list a cash price for blood lead test: from $3.90 to $65.00, with a median of $21.84. The lowest listed price is at Sequoia Hospital — $17.94 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $10.13 at 152 hospitals.
- The median here, $21.84, is 53% below the US median of $46.28.
- That is 1.8× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($12.11).
- San Francisco, CA ranks 4th of 4 metro areas in California by median, cheapest first.
- 3 of 17 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 17 facilities across 15 cities for code 83655, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Oct 30, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sequoia Hospital lowest Redwood City, CA · (650) 369-5811 RL-A-HY MET U 99475B File of Sep 30, 2026 · source file | $3.90 | $11.43 | $2.41–$43.01 | 66% |
| Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley Pleasanton, CA · (925) 847-3000 6959 Lead Level File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $4.71 | $11.78 | — | 60% |
| Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley Pleasanton, CA · (925) 847-3000 Lead Urine File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $5.08 | $12.71 | — | 60% |
| St. Rose Hospital Hayward, CA · (510) 782-6200 LC -LEADBLOODQUANT File of Feb 23, 2026 · source file | $8.77 | $29.23 | $11.27–$30.27 | 70% |
| MarinHealth Medical Center Greenbrae, CA · (415) 925-7900 ASSAY OF LEAD File of Mar 26, 2026 · source file | $19.56 | $32.60 | $12.11–$2,330.00 | 40% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Redwood City Redwood City, CA · (650) 299-2000 ASSAY OF LEAD File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $21.84 | $39.00 | $11.00–$35.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Leandro San Leandro, CA · (510) 454-1000 ASSAY OF LEAD File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $21.84 | $39.00 | $11.00–$35.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Fremont Fremont, CA · (510) 784-4000 ASSAY OF LEAD File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $21.84 | $39.00 | $11.00–$35.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Rafael San Rafael, CA · (415) 444-2000 ASSAY OF LEAD File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $21.84 | $39.00 | $11.00–$35.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Francisco San Francisco, CA · (415) 833-2646 ASSAY OF LEAD File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $21.84 | $39.00 | $11.00–$35.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - South San Francisco South San Francisco, CA · (650) 742-3200 ASSAY OF LEAD File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $21.84 | $39.00 | $11.00–$35.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Antioch Antioch, CA · (925) 813-6500 ASSAY OF LEAD File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $21.84 | $39.00 | $11.00–$35.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Walnut Creek Walnut Creek, CA · (925) 295-4000 ASSAY OF LEAD File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $21.84 | $39.00 | $11.00–$35.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Oakland/Richmond Oakland, CA · (510) 752-1000 ASSAY OF LEAD File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $21.84 | $39.00 | $11.00–$35.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Fnd Hospital - Richmond Campus Richmond, CA · (510) 752-1000 ASSAY OF LEAD File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $21.84 | $39.00 | $11.00–$35.00 | 44% |
| Chinese Hospital San Francisco, CA · (415) 677-2480 Lead level File of Jul 22, 2026 · source file | $56.00 | $56.00 | $6.78–$260.90 | — |
| Mills-Peninsula Medical Center Burlingame, CA · (650) 696-5400 HCHG LEAD URINE+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $65.00 | $65.00 | — | — |
| Mills Health Center San Mateo, CA · (650) 696-5400 HCHG LEAD BLOOD+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $65.00 | $65.00 | — | — |
Outpatient: lowest $3.90, median $21.84, highest $65.00 — a 16.7× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 15 facilities here, median $21.84. 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 14 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 1 it is 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 lead test is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Lead test explained.
3 rows held back from this comparison
They are priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 83655 ($36.00). Such a line is almost always a physician's fee billed separately, an assistant's share or a placeholder — a real charge, but not the price of the procedure itself.
| Hospital | Cash price | File |
|---|---|---|
| Sequoia Hospital Redwood City, CARL-A-LEAD WB 20098 | $1.71 | file |
| Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley Pleasanton, CAHC 6956 Lead | $2.91 | file |
| Sequoia Hospital Redwood City, CARL-A-HY MET B4 20584C | $3.28 | file |