Screening colonoscopy cost in San Diego, CA
In San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA, 4 hospitals list a cash price for screening colonoscopy for a person at average risk (Medicare code): from $1,700.40 to $4,209.39, with a median of $1,700.40. The lowest listed price is at Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Diego - Clairemont Mesa and 2 other hospitals. Across California, the median is $1,700.40 at 57 hospitals.
Cash prices at 4 facilities across 2 cities for code G0121, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 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 | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Diego - Clairemont Mesa lowest San Diego, CA COLON CA SCRN NOT HI RSK IND | $1,700.40 | $3,270.00 | $904.00–$2,690.00 | 48% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Marcos lowest San Marcos, CA · (760) 528-6295 COLON CA SCRN NOT HI RSK IND | $1,700.40 | $3,270.00 | $904.00–$2,690.00 | 48% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Diego - Zion lowest San Diego, CA · (619) 528-5000 COLON CA SCRN NOT HI RSK IND | $1,700.40 | $3,270.00 | $904.00–$2,690.00 | 48% | — source file |
| UC San Diego Medical Center San Diego, CA · (619) 543-6222 Misc Services | $4,209.39 | $7,653.44 | $50.00–$10,382.01 | 45% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $1,700.40, median $1,700.40, highest $4,209.39 — a 2.5× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 3 facilities here, median $1,700.40. 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 4 of 4 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 it is
This is a routine colonoscopy for someone with no symptoms and no high-risk factors, done to find and prevent colorectal cancer. G0121 is a Medicare screening code; for people at average risk Medicare covers it once every 10 years, or 4 years after a screening sigmoidoscopy.
What the price covers
The facility price usually covers the procedure room and recovery. The gastroenterologist, anesthesia, the bowel-prep medicine and any pathology are usually billed or bought separately.