AST liver test cost in San Francisco, CA
In San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA, 12 hospitals list a cash price for AST (aspartate aminotransferase) enzyme test: from $45.36 to $100.00, with a median of $45.36. The lowest listed price is at Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Walnut Creek and 8 other hospitals. Across California, the median is $45.36 at 103 hospitals.
Cash prices at 12 facilities across 11 cities for code 84450, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Walnut Creek lowest Walnut Creek, CA TRANSFERASE ASPARTATE AMINO AST SGOT | $45.36 | $81.00 | $5.00–$15.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Antioch lowest Antioch, CA TRANSFERASE ASPARTATE AMINO AST SGOT | $45.36 | $81.00 | $5.00–$15.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Fremont lowest Fremont, CA TRANSFERASE ASPARTATE AMINO AST SGOT | $45.36 | $81.00 | $5.00–$15.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Oakland/Richmond lowest Oakland, CA TRANSFERASE ASPARTATE AMINO AST SGOT | $45.36 | $81.00 | $5.00–$15.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Redwood City lowest Redwood City, CA TRANSFERASE ASPARTATE AMINO AST SGOT | $45.36 | $81.00 | $5.00–$15.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Francisco lowest San Francisco, CA TRANSFERASE ASPARTATE AMINO AST SGOT | $45.36 | $81.00 | $5.00–$15.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Leandro lowest San Leandro, CA TRANSFERASE ASPARTATE AMINO AST SGOT | $45.36 | $81.00 | $5.00–$15.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Rafael lowest San Rafael, CA TRANSFERASE ASPARTATE AMINO AST SGOT | $45.36 | $81.00 | $5.00–$15.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - South San Francisco lowest South San Francisco, CA TRANSFERASE ASPARTATE AMINO AST SGOT | $45.36 | $81.00 | $5.00–$15.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Chinese Hospital Association San Francisco, CA Liver enzyme (SGOT), level | $54.00 | $54.00 | $2.80–$260.90 | — | Jul 22, 2026 source file |
| Hayward Sisters Hospital Hayward, CA TRANSFERASE ASP.AMINO(SGOT) | $64.58 | $215.25 | $4.82–$182.96 | 70% | Feb 23, 2026 source file |
| Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley Pleasanton, CA HC Sgot/Ast | $100.00 | $250.00 | — | 60% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $45.36, median $45.36, highest $100.00 — a 2.2× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 11 facilities here, median $45.36. 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
AST is an enzyme found in the liver, muscles and heart. It is measured together with ALT to look for liver injury, and the ratio between them gives clues to the cause.
What the price covers
The price usually covers running the test. The blood draw (36415) is often billed as a separate line.