Medical Back Problems Cost in California — Compare All Hospitals
Hospitalization for medical (non-surgical) back conditions including herniated discs, severe radiculopathy, and chronic pain crises.
State average
$48,538
gross charge · DRG 552
Hospitals
40
with published pricing
Price range
$956 – $125,189
low to high
Data notes for California
- The lowest published charge ($956 at Seneca District Hospital) is unusually low for an inpatient stay. This may reflect a data-quality issue in the hospital's MRF rather than an actual price — verify directly with the hospital before relying on it.
Hospitals ranked by gross charge
- 1
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
Los Angeles, CA
Gross charge $0 - 2
Seneca District Hospital
Chester, CA
Gross charge $956Cash pay $765 - 3
Glenn Medical Center
Willows, CA
Gross charge $960Cash pay $576 - 4
Colusa Medical Center
Colusa, CA
Gross charge $3,335Cash pay $2,001 - 5
Modoc Medical Center
Alturas, CA
Gross charge $4,276 - 6
Coalinga Regional Medical Center
Coalinga, CA
Gross charge $4,648Cash pay $2,789 - 7
Tahoe Forest Hospital
Truckee, CA
Gross charge $13,071 - 8
Ridgecrest Regional Hospital
Ridgecrest, CA
Gross charge $16,955Cash pay $8,986 - 9
Fairchild Medical Center
Yreka, CA
Gross charge $18,149 - 10
Scripps Mercy Hospital
San Diego, CA
Gross charge $18,550Cash pay $4,638 - 11
Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla
La Jolla, CA
Gross charge $18,550Cash pay $4,638 - 12
Scripps Green Hospital
La Jolla, CA
Gross charge $18,550Cash pay $4,638 - 13
Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas
Encinitas, CA
Gross charge $18,550Cash pay $4,638 - 14
Adventist Health Reedley
Reedley, CA
Gross charge $27,762Cash pay $5,275 - 15
Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital
Hollister, CA
Gross charge $28,929 - 16
Adventist Health Mendocino Coast
Fort Bragg, CA
Gross charge $33,468Cash pay $22,089 - 17
Tri-City Medical Center (Acute Care)
Oceanside, CA
Gross charge $33,603Cash pay $20,162 - 18
Adventist Health White Memorial Montebello
Montebello, CA
Gross charge $34,067Cash pay $3,409,922 - 19
Barstow Community Hospital
Barstow, CA
Gross charge $34,409Cash pay $20,645 - 20
Sonoma Valley Hospital
Sonoma, CA
Gross charge $35,967Cash pay $25,177 - 21
Kaweah Health Medical Center
Visalia, CA
Gross charge $42,131Cash pay $14,000 - 22
Saint Agnes Medical Center
Fresno, CA
Gross charge $42,874Cash pay $27,868 - 23
Adventist Health St Helena
Saint Helena, CA
Gross charge $48,155Cash pay $7,223 - 24
Regional Medical Center
San Jose, CA
Gross charge $56,684Cash pay $39,678 - 25
El Centro Regional Medical Center
El Centro, CA
Gross charge $56,974Cash pay $39,882 - 26
Southern Monterey County Memorial Hospital
King City, CA
Gross charge $59,427Cash pay $44,570 - 27Gross charge $60,226
- 28
Eisenhower Medical Center
Rancho Mirage, CA
Gross charge $61,109Cash pay $5,324 - 29
Sharp Grossmont Hospital
La Mesa, CA
Gross charge $73,619Cash pay $55,214 - 30
Sharp Memorial Hospital
San Diego, CA
Gross charge $73,619Cash pay $55,214 - 31
Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center
Chula Vista, CA
Gross charge $73,619Cash pay $55,214 - 32
Sharp Coronado Hospital
Coronado, CA
Gross charge $73,619Cash pay $55,214 - 33
San Antonio Regional Hospital
Upland, CA
Gross charge $79,367Cash pay $80,954 - 34
Natividad Medical Center
Salinas, CA
Gross charge $84,146 - 35
Adventist Health Howard Memorial
Willits, CA
Gross charge $86,380Cash pay $25,914 - 36
Alameda Hospital
Alameda, CA
Gross charge $90,149Cash pay $45,074 - 37
Highland Hospital
Oakland, CA
Gross charge $90,149Cash pay $45,074 - 38
Redlands Community Hospital
Redlands, CA
Gross charge $92,463Cash pay $22,191 - 39
Kern Valley Healthcare District
Lake Isabella, CA
Gross charge $98,453Cash pay $3,870,199 - 40
Adventist Health Clear Lake
Clearlake, CA
Gross charge $108,399Cash pay $39,024 - 41
Riverside University Health System Medical Center
Moreno Valley, CA
Gross charge $125,189 - 42
Dignity Health - Mercy General Hospital
Sacramento, CA
Gross charge — - 43
Mad River Community Hospital
Arcata, CA
Gross charge — - 44
Dignity Health - Memorial Hospital
Bakersfield, CA
Gross charge — - 45
St Elizabeth Community Hospital
Red Bluff, CA
Gross charge — - 46
Glendale Mem Hospital & Hlth Center
Glendale, CA
Gross charge — - 47
Community Regional Medical Center
Fresno, CA
Gross charge — - 48
St. John's Regional Medical Center
Oxnard, CA
Gross charge — - 49
St Joseph's Medical Center of Stockton
Stockton, CA
Gross charge — - 50
Community Hospital of San Bernardino
San Bernardino, CA
Gross charge — - 51
Community Hospital of Huntington Park
Huntington Park, CA
Gross charge — - 52
St. Francis Medical Center
Lynwood, CA
Gross charge —Cash pay $9,851 - 53
Marian Regional Medical Center (Acute Care)
Santa Maria, CA
Gross charge — - 54
Northridge Hospital Medical Center (Acute Care)
Northridge, CA
Gross charge — - 55
Valley Presbyterian Hospital
Van Nuys, CA
Gross charge — - 56
Woodland Memorial Hospital
Woodland, CA
Gross charge — - 57
St Bernardine Medical Center
San Bernardino, CA
Gross charge — - 58
Dignity Health - Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital
Grass Valley, CA
Gross charge — - 59
UCSF Health Saint Francis Hospital
San Francisco, CA
Gross charge — - 60
Sequoia Hospital
Redwood City, CA
Gross charge — - 61
French Hospital Medical Center
San Luis Obispo, CA
Gross charge — - 62
Dignity Health - Dominican Hospital
Santa Cruz, CA
Gross charge — - 63
Arrowhead Regional Medical Center
Colton, CA
Gross charge — - 64
Dignity Health – Mercy Hospital Downtown
Bakersfield, CA
Gross charge — - 65
Providence St. Mary Medical Center
Apple Valley, CA
Gross charge — - 66
Loma Linda University Medical Center (Acute Care)
Loma Linda, CA
Gross charge — - 67
Northbay Medical Center
Fairfield, CA
Gross charge — - 68
Dignity Health - Mercy Hospital of Folsom
Folsom, CA
Gross charge — - 69
Huntington Hospital (Acute Care)
Pasadena, CA
Gross charge — - 70
Dignity Health – Mercy Medical Center
Merced, CA
Gross charge — - 71
UCSF Health St. Mary's Hospital
San Francisco, CA
Gross charge — - 72
Memorial Hospital of Gardena
Gardena, CA
Gross charge — - 73
UCLA West Valley Medical Center
West Hills, CA
Gross charge — - 74
Clovis Community Medical Center
Clovis, CA
Gross charge — - 75
Adventist Health Sierra Vista
San Luis Obispo, CA
Gross charge — - 76
Mercy San Juan Medical Center
Carmichael, CA
Gross charge — - 77
La Palma Intercommunity Hospital (Acute Care)
La Palma, CA
Gross charge —Cash pay $12,930 - 78
San Dimas Community Hospital
San Dimas, CA
Gross charge —Cash pay $12,064 - 79
Methodist Hospital of Sacramento
Sacramento, CA
Gross charge — - 80
East Los Angeles Doctors Hospital
Los Angeles, CA
Gross charge — - 81
Fresno Surgical Hospital
Fresno, CA
Gross charge — - 82
Desert Valley Hospital
Victorville, CA
Gross charge —Cash pay $13,089 - 83
Cedar-Sinai Marina Del Rey Hospital
Marina Del Rey, CA
Gross charge — - 84
Kaiser Permanente Manteca Medical Center
Manteca, CA
Gross charge — - 85
Loma Linda University Medical Center-Murrieta
Murrieta, CA
Gross charge — - 86
Coast Plaza Hospital
Norwalk, CA
Gross charge — - 87
Loma Linda University Children's Hospital
Loma Linda, CA
Gross charge — - 88
Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital
Los Angeles, CA
Gross charge — - 89
Mountains Community Hospital
Lake Arrowhead, CA
Gross charge — - 90
Mercy Medical Center of Mount Shasta
Mount Shasta, CA
Gross charge — - 91Gross charge —Cash pay $15,366
- 92
Mark Twain Medical Center
San Andreas, CA
Gross charge —
California hospitals price medical back problems (Medicare DRG 552) anywhere from $956 to $125,189 — a $124,234 gap between the cheapest and most expensive option. The cheapest is Seneca District Hospital in Chester; the most expensive is Riverside University Health System Medical Center in Moreno Valley. The state average sits at $48,538.
Gross charges are the hospital's list price for the facility part of your stay — the room, operating-room time, nursing, and equipment. Insurance plans negotiate substantial discounts, Medicare and Medicaid pay fixed federal rates, and uninsured patients can usually qualify for a cash-pay discount. But the gross charge still works as a useful benchmark: a hospital that lists medical back problems at twice the price of another typically negotiates higher rates with insurers too, and quotes more for uninsured patients.
If you're scheduling medical back problems in California, sort the list below by price, then click each hospital name to see its quality profile — CMS overall star rating, surgical-safety measures, readmission rates, patient-experience scores. The cheapest hospital isn't always the right call. Teaching hospitals often charge more because they take complex cases, and a higher-rated community hospital may deliver equivalent outcomes for a straightforward case at a lower price. Use the price column to narrow the field; use the quality data to make the final call.
Pricing comes from each hospital's Machine-Readable File (MRF), published under the federal Hospital Price Transparency Rule. California hospitals missing from the list either don't perform medical back problems in volume, haven't published a usable price for DRG 552 in their most recent MRF, or fell below our data-quality thresholds (we filter out clearly erroneous entries like $0 charges). The list refreshes as hospitals update their files.