Nutrition counseling cost in San Jose, CA
In San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, 5 hospitals list a cash price for nutrition counseling (medical nutrition therapy), first visit, 15 minutes: from $44.50 to $152.80, with a median of $99.68. The lowest listed price is at Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford — $55.18 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $99.68 at 78 hospitals.
Cash prices at 5 facilities across 5 cities for code 97802, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Mar 31, 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 Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford lowest Palo Alto, CA · (650) 497-8000 HC Mnt Initial Ea 15 Min | $44.50 | $89.00 | $37.56–$46.28 | 50% | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| El Camino Hospital Mountain View, CA · (650) 940-7000 HC MNT INITIAL INDIVIDUAL EACH 15 MINS PDC | $85.25 | $341.00 | — | 75% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| El Camino Hospital Mountain View, CA · (650) 940-7000 HC MNT-INITIAL, INDIV, EA 15 MINS | $85.25 | $341.00 | — | 75% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Jose San Jose, CA · (408) 972-7000 MEDICAL NUTRITION ASSMT&IVNTJ INDIV EACH 15 MI | $99.68 | $178.00 | — | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Santa Clara Santa Clara, CA · (408) 236-6400 MEDICAL NUTRITION ASSMT&IVNTJ INDIV EACH 15 MI | $99.68 | $178.00 | — | 44% | — source file |
| Stanford Health Care Stanford, CA · (650) 723-4000 Mnt Initial Assessmt 15 Min | $152.80 | $382.00 | — | 60% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $44.50, median $99.68, highest $152.80 — a 3.4× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 4 facilities here, median $99.68. 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 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
Medical nutrition therapy is counseling by a registered dietitian for conditions such as diabetes and kidney disease.
What the price covers
The price is for one 15-minute unit; a session usually includes several units and codes.