Flu shot cost in Merced, CA — inpatient
In Merced, CA, 2 hospitals list a cash price for flu shot, standard dose, preservative-free, for age 6 months and older as an inpatient: from $47.38 to $171.06, with a median of $109.22. The lowest listed price is at Mercy Medical Center — $61.84 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $36.96 at 145 hospitals.
Cash prices at 2 facilities across 2 cities for code 90656, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Feb 28, 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 Merced, CA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercy Medical Center lowest Merced, CA · (209) 564-5000 FLU VAC PF TR SV 0.5MLPFS | $47.38 | $92.00 | $23.00–$86.48 | 49% | Feb 28, 2026 source file |
| Memorial Hospital Los Banos Los Banos, CA · (209) 826-0591 INFLUENZA VIRUS VACC SPLIT PF 0.5 ML IM SUSY | $171.06 | $171.06 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
Inpatient: lowest $47.38, median $109.22, highest $171.06 — a 3.6× difference within the same market.
As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 2 facilities here, median $109.22 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.
Cash or insurance?
At the one hospital here that publishes insurer rates for this code, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated. 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 standard-dose flu shot protects against the influenza strains expected in the coming season, and the formula changes every year. This code is the preservative-free version given to most people.
What the price covers
The price is for the vaccine dose. Giving the shot is usually a separate line (code 90471 for the first vaccine of the visit); Medicare bills use G0008 instead.