Lumbar facet injection cost in California

In California, 148 hospitals publish a cash price for facet joint injection, lower back, one level, with imaging guidance: from $287.00 to $7,588.80, with a median of $2,059.20. The lowest price is at County of Monterey (Salinas). The highest price is 26.4× the lowest.

• The median here, $2,059.20, is 34% above the US median of $1,538.11.
• That is 2.3× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($903.63).
• California ranks 36th of 48 states by median, cheapest first.
• 45 of 148 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.

California law (Health and Safety Code §127405): if you are uninsured or have high medical costs and your family income is at or below 400% of the federal poverty level, a hospital may not expect you to pay more than it would expect from Medicare or Medi-Cal, whichever is greater. That can be less than the cash prices below; ask the hospital for its discount payment policy. A separate physician fee may still apply. Other states' laws.

Outpatient cash prices, one line per hospital — its lowest listed price for code 64493. Prices for both sides of the body and inpatient prices are not mixed in. Collected Nov 4, 2026. See them on a map