Level 1 ER visit cost in San Francisco, CA
In San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA, 26 hospitals list a cash price for emergency room visit, level 1 of 5, minor problem that may not need a doctor: from $214.83 to $613.37, with a median of $542.10. The lowest listed price is at St. Rose Hospital — $327.27 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $420.68 at 210 hospitals.
- The median here, $542.10, is 144% above the US median of $222.62.
- That is 6.3× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($86.15).
- San Francisco, CA ranks 5th of 5 metro areas in California by median, cheapest first.
- 12 of 26 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 26 facilities across 18 cities for code 99281, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Oct 31, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Feb 23, 2026 and Sep 30, 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 lowest Hayward, CA · (510) 782-6200 CATEGORYI File of Feb 23, 2026 · source file | $214.83 | $716.10 | $501.27–$1,107.00 | 70% |
| Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley Pleasanton, CA · (925) 847-3000 OB Emergency Care Level 1+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $442.80 | $1,107.00 | — | 60% |
| Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley Pleasanton, CA · (925) 847-3000 Emergency Care Level 1 Proc+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $451.60 | $1,129.00 | — | 60% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Leandro San Leandro, CA · (510) 454-1000 EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT VISIT MAY NOT REQ PHYS/QHP File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $472.08 | $843.00 | $655.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Walnut Creek Walnut Creek, CA · (925) 295-4000 EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT VISIT MAY NOT REQ PHYS/QHP File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $472.08 | $843.00 | $655.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Redwood City Redwood City, CA · (650) 299-2000 EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT VISIT MAY NOT REQ PHYS/QHP File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $472.08 | $843.00 | $655.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Rafael San Rafael, CA · (415) 444-2000 EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT VISIT MAY NOT REQ PHYS/QHP File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $472.08 | $843.00 | $655.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Fnd Hospital - Richmond Campus Richmond, CA · (510) 752-1000 EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT VISIT MAY NOT REQ PHYS/QHP File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $472.08 | $843.00 | $655.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Oakland/Richmond Oakland, CA · (510) 752-1000 EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT VISIT MAY NOT REQ PHYS/QHP File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $472.08 | $843.00 | $655.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Fremont Fremont, CA · (510) 784-4000 EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT VISIT MAY NOT REQ PHYS/QHP File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $472.08 | $843.00 | $655.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - South San Francisco South San Francisco, CA · (650) 742-3200 EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT VISIT MAY NOT REQ PHYS/QHP File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $472.08 | $843.00 | $655.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Antioch Antioch, CA · (925) 813-6500 EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT VISIT MAY NOT REQ PHYS/QHP File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $472.08 | $843.00 | $655.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Francisco San Francisco, CA · (415) 833-2646 EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT VISIT MAY NOT REQ PHYS/QHP File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $472.08 | $843.00 | $655.00 | 44% |
| MarinHealth Medical Center Greenbrae, CA · (415) 925-7900 EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT VISIT FOR PROBLEM OF MILD SEVERITY File of Mar 26, 2026 · source file | $526.20 | $877.00 | $119.01–$3,326.00 | 40% |
| Chinese Hospital San Francisco, CA · (415) 677-2480 Emergency department visit for problem that may not require health care professional File of Jul 22, 2026 · source file | $558.00 | $558.00 | $21.77–$1,004.40 | — |
| MarinHealth Medical Center Greenbrae, CA · (415) 925-7900 EMR DPT VST MAYX REQ PHY/QHP File of Mar 26, 2026 · source file | $559.09 | $931.81 | $119.01–$3,326.00 | 40% |
| Novato Community Hospital Novato, CA · (415) 209-1300 HCHG ED LEVEL 1 File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $603.00 | $603.00 | — | — |
| Mills Health Center San Mateo, CA · (650) 696-5400 HCHG ED LEVEL 1 File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $603.00 | $603.00 | — | — |
| Mills-Peninsula Medical Center Burlingame, CA · (650) 696-5400 HCHG ED LEVEL 1 File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $603.00 | $603.00 | — | — |
| Eden Medical Center Castro Valley, CA · (510) 537-1234 HCHG ED LEVEL 1+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $603.00 | $603.00 | — | — |
| Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Oakland, CA · (510) 655-4000 HCHG ED LEVEL 1 File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $603.00 | $603.00 | — | — |
| Alta Bates Summit Medical Center - Alta Bates Camp Berkeley, CA · (510) 204-4444 HCHG ED LEVEL 1 File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $603.00 | $603.00 | — | — |
| Sutter Delta Medical Center Antioch, CA · (925) 779-7200 HCHG ED LEVEL 1 File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $603.00 | $603.00 | — | — |
| Alta Bates Summit Medical Center-Summit Campus-Hawthorne Oakland, CA · (510) 655-4000 HCHG ED LEVEL 1 File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $603.00 | $603.00 | — | — |
| California Pacific Medical Ctr-Davies Campus Hospital San Francisco, CA · (415) 600-6000 HCHG ED LEVEL 1 File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $603.00 | $603.00 | — | — |
| California Pacific Medical Center- Van Ness Campus San Francisco, CA · (415) 600-6000 HCHG ED LEVEL 1 File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $603.00 | $603.00 | — | — |
| Alta Bates Summit Medical Center - Herrick Campus Berkeley, CA · (510) 204-4444 HCHG ED LEVEL 1 File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $603.00 | $603.00 | — | — |
| Sequoia Hospital Redwood City, CA · (650) 369-5811 ER LEVEL 1 File of Sep 30, 2026 · source file | $613.37 | $1,798.00 | $21.77–$4,100.00 | 66% |
Outpatient: lowest $214.83, median $542.10, highest $613.37 — a 2.9× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 25 facilities here, median $558.00. 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 14 of 14 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at 11 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 level 1 ER visit is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Level 1 ER visit explained.