HIV viral load test cost in San Francisco, CA
In San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA, 25 hospitals list a cash price for HIV viral load test (HIV-1 RNA, quantitative): from $30.87 to $608.00, with a median of $272.16. The lowest listed price is at St. Rose Hospital — $241.29 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $100.88 at 176 hospitals.
- The median here, $272.16, is about the same as the US median of $276.38.
- That is 3.2× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($85.10).
- San Francisco, CA ranks 4th of 4 metro areas in California by median, cheapest first.
- 12 of 25 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 25 facilities across 18 cities for code 87536, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Nov 12, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Rose Hospital one side lowest Hayward, CA · (510) 782-6200 LC-HIV VIRUS QUANT RT PCR File of Feb 23, 2026 · source file | $30.87 | $102.90 | $51.45–$212.75 | 70% |
| Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley Pleasanton, CA · (925) 847-3000 Hiv-1 by Quant Naat File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $34.00 | $85.00 | — | 60% |
| St. Rose Hospital Hayward, CA · (510) 782-6200 LC - HIV VIRAL LOAD File of Feb 23, 2026 · source file | $37.01 | $123.38 | $61.69–$212.75 | 70% |
| St. Rose Hospital Hayward, CA · (510) 782-6200 LC - RNARealTimePCR(NonGraph) File of Feb 23, 2026 · source file | $37.80 | $126.00 | $63.00–$212.75 | 70% |
| MarinHealth Medical Center Greenbrae, CA · (415) 925-7900 HIV-1 QUANT&REVRSE TRNSCRPJ File of Mar 26, 2026 · source file | $48.00 | $80.00 | $38.43–$2,330.00 | 40% |
| St. Rose Hospital Hayward, CA · (510) 782-6200 LC- HIV PCR File of Feb 23, 2026 · source file | $121.59 | $405.30 | $73.40–$344.50 | 70% |
| Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley Pleasanton, CA · (925) 847-3000 HC Hiv Rna Pcr Quant File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $145.20 | $363.00 | — | 60% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Walnut Creek Walnut Creek, CA · (925) 295-4000 IADNA HIV-1 QUANT & REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $272.16 | $486.00 | $78.00–$245.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Redwood City Redwood City, CA · (650) 299-2000 IADNA HIV-1 QUANT & REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $272.16 | $486.00 | $78.00–$245.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Francisco San Francisco, CA · (415) 833-2646 IADNA HIV-1 QUANT & REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $272.16 | $486.00 | $78.00–$245.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Antioch Antioch, CA · (925) 813-6500 IADNA HIV-1 QUANT & REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $272.16 | $486.00 | $78.00–$245.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Oakland/Richmond Oakland, CA · (510) 752-1000 IADNA HIV-1 QUANT & REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $272.16 | $486.00 | $78.00–$245.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Leandro San Leandro, CA · (510) 454-1000 IADNA HIV-1 QUANT & REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $272.16 | $486.00 | $78.00–$245.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Fnd Hospital - Richmond Campus Richmond, CA · (510) 752-1000 IADNA HIV-1 QUANT & REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $272.16 | $486.00 | $78.00–$245.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Fremont Fremont, CA · (510) 784-4000 IADNA HIV-1 QUANT & REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $272.16 | $486.00 | $78.00–$245.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - South San Francisco South San Francisco, CA · (650) 742-3200 IADNA HIV-1 QUANT & REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $272.16 | $486.00 | $78.00–$245.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Rafael San Rafael, CA · (415) 444-2000 IADNA HIV-1 QUANT & REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $272.16 | $486.00 | $78.00–$245.00 | 44% |
| Alta Bates Summit Medical Center - Alta Bates Camp Berkeley, CA · (510) 204-4444 HCHG HIV 1 QN W/WO REVRS TRNSCRP+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $572.00 | $572.00 | — | — |
| Mills-Peninsula Medical Center Burlingame, CA · (650) 696-5400 HCHG CORE HIV 1 RNA QN PCR W/WO REVRS TRNSCRP+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $572.00 | $572.00 | — | — |
| Mills Health Center San Mateo, CA · (650) 696-5400 HCHG HIV 1 QN W/WO REVRS TRNSCRP+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $572.00 | $572.00 | — | — |
| Novato Community Hospital Novato, CA · (415) 209-1300 HCHG CORE HIV 1 RNA QN PCR W/WO REVRS TRNSCRP File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $572.00 | $572.00 | — | — |
| Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Oakland, CA · (510) 655-4000 HCHG CORE HIV 1 RNA QN PCR W/WO REVRS TRNSCRP+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $572.00 | $572.00 | — | — |
| California Pacific Medical Ctr-Davies Campus Hospital San Francisco, CA · (415) 600-6000 HCHG CORE HIV 1 RNA QN PCR W/WO REVRS TRNSCRP File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $572.00 | $572.00 | — | — |
| California Pacific Medical Center- Van Ness Campus San Francisco, CA · (415) 600-6000 HCHG CORE HIV 1 RNA QN PCR W/WO REVRS TRNSCRP File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $572.00 | $572.00 | — | — |
| Sutter Delta Medical Center Antioch, CA · (925) 779-7200 HCHG CORE HIV 1 RNA QN PCR W/WO REVRS TRNSCRP File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $572.00 | $572.00 | — | — |
| Alta Bates Summit Medical Center-Summit Campus-Hawthorne Oakland, CA · (510) 655-4000 HCHG CORE HIV 1 RNA QN PCR W/WO REVRS TRNSCRP+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $572.00 | $572.00 | — | — |
| Alta Bates Summit Medical Center - Herrick Campus Berkeley, CA · (510) 204-4444 HCHG CORE HIV 1 RNA QN PCR W/WO REVRS TRNSCRP+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $572.00 | $572.00 | — | — |
| Eden Medical Center Castro Valley, CA · (510) 537-1234 HCHG CORE HIV 1 RNA QN PCR W/WO REVRS TRNSCRP File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $572.00 | $572.00 | — | — |
| Chinese Hospital San Francisco, CA · (415) 677-2480 Detection test by nucleic acid for HIV-1 virus, quantification File of Jul 22, 2026 · source file | $608.00 | $608.00 | $85.10–$1,094.40 | — |
Outpatient: lowest $30.87, median $272.16, highest $608.00 — a 19.7× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 23 facilities here, median $272.16. 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 3 of 13 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 HIV viral load test is, what the price covers and why prices differ: HIV viral load test explained.
1 row held back from this comparison
It is priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 87536 ($282.24). 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-HIV QNT 3000867 | $20.47 | file |