Therapy session, 60 min cost in San Diego, CA
In San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA, 11 hospitals list a cash price for psychotherapy session, 60 minutes: from $180.00 to $829.50, with a median of $618.37. The lowest listed price is at Rady Children's Hospital - San Diego — $438.37 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $367.20 at 121 hospitals.
- The median here, $618.37, is 146% above the US median of $250.90.
- That is 3.4× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($181.34).
- San Diego, CA ranks 5th 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 11 facilities across 7 cities for code 90837, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Apr 1, 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 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rady Children's Hospital - San Diego lowest San Diego, CA · (858) 576-1700 Rch Casey Indiv Thpy 60Min Lcsw+3 more lines at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $180.00 | $240.00 | — | 25% |
| UC San Diego Medical Center San Diego, CA · (619) 543-6222 Individual therapy, 60 minutes File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $213.40 | $388.00 | $34.10–$523.80 | 45% |
| Rady Children's Hospital - San Diego San Diego, CA · (858) 576-1700 Rch Casey Individual Therapy 60Min Lcsw File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $224.25 | $299.00 | — | 25% |
| Rady Children's Hospital - San Diego San Diego, CA · (858) 576-1700 Rch Casey Indiv Thpy 60Min Phd+5 more lines at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $225.00 | $300.00 | — | 25% |
| Rady Children's Hospital - San Diego San Diego, CA · (858) 576-1700 Rch Psych Individual File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $228.00 | $304.00 | — | 25% |
| Rady Children's Hospital - San Diego San Diego, CA · (858) 576-1700 Rch Casey Individual Therapy 60Min Phd+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $258.75 | $345.00 | — | 25% |
| Rady Children's Hospital - San Diego San Diego, CA · (858) 576-1700 Rch Psychotherapy Md File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $273.75 | $365.00 | — | 25% |
| Rady Children's Hospital - San Diego San Diego, CA · (858) 576-1700 Rch Individual Therapy 60 Min Lcsw+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $276.00 | $368.00 | — | 25% |
| Rady Children's Hospital - San Diego San Diego, CA · (858) 576-1700 Rch Indiv Thpy 60Min Phd+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $301.50 | $402.00 | — | 25% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Marcos San Marcos, CA · (760) 528-6295 PSYCHOTHERAPY W/PATIENT 60 MINUTES File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $342.16 | $658.00 | — | 48% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Diego - Zion San Diego, CA · (619) 528-5000 PSYCHOTHERAPY W/PATIENT 60 MINUTES File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $342.16 | $658.00 | — | 48% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Diego - Clairemont Mesa San Diego, CA · (619) 528-5000 PSYCHOTHERAPY W/PATIENT 60 MINUTES File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $342.16 | $658.00 | — | 48% |
| Rady Children's Hospital - San Diego San Diego, CA · (858) 576-1700 Rch Individual Thpy/Biofeedback 60 Min Phd File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $401.25 | $535.00 | — | 25% |
| Palomar Medical Center Escondido Escondido, CA Indiv Therapy 60 min File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $618.37 | $1,030.61 | — | 40% |
| Palomar Medical Center Poway Poway, CA · (858) 485-6511 Indiv Therapy 60 min File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $618.37 | $1,030.61 | — | 40% |
| Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center Chula Vista, CA · (619) 502-5800 HC PSYCHOTHERAPY PATIENT &/ FAMILY 60 MINUTES+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $829.50 | $1,106.00 | $1.00–$1,083.88 | 25% |
| Grossmont Hospital La Mesa, CA · (619) 465-0711 HC PSYCHOTHERAPY PATIENT &/ FAMILY 60 MINUTES+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $829.50 | $1,106.00 | $1.00–$3,999.21 | 25% |
| Sharp Coronado Hospital and Healthcare Center Coronado, CA · (619) 435-6251 HC PSYCHOTHERAPY PATIENT &/ FAMILY 60 MINUTES+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $829.50 | $1,106.00 | $1.00–$13,971.66 | 25% |
| Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital San Diego, CA · (858) 278-4110 HC PSYCHOTHERAPY PATIENT &/ FAMILY 60 MINUTES File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $829.50 | $1,106.00 | $328.48–$1,083.88 | 25% |
Outpatient: lowest $180.00, median $618.37, highest $829.50 — a 4.6× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 11 facilities here, median $618.37. 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 5 of 5 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 therapy session, 60 min is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Therapy session, 60 min explained.