How much does SARS-CoV-2 (COVID) PCR cost in California?
CPT 87635 — the fair price, every hospital's price, and the Medicare benchmark for California.
Estimates only. Educational estimates from public Medicare
benchmarks and hospital-published prices — not a guarantee, and not legal, medical, or financial advice.
87635 SARS-CoV-2 (COVID) PCR
Ask to pay
$88
This is the local cash / self-pay price — usually the best rate you can ask for.
Typical
$69
Medicare $51
Ask $88
$16 lowboxed = typical rangehigh $382
What Medicare paysⓘ
$51
Typical price near you
$69
Cash / self-pay price
$88
Prices near you — 92 facilities, lowest first
| Facility | Type | Price | vs Medicare | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dignity Mercy General Hospital (Sacramento) lowest | Hospital | $16cash | 0.3× | ★★★★★ |
| Dignity Mercy San Juan Medical Center (Carmichael) | Hospital | $20cash | 0.4× | — |
| Dignity Northridge Hospital Medical Center (Northridge) | Hospital | $21cash | 0.4× | ★★★★★ |
| Dignity Glendale Memorial Hospital (Glendale) | Hospital | $24cash | 0.5× | — |
| Dignity St. Bernardine Medical Center (San Bernardino) | Hospital | $25cash | 0.5× | — |
| Eisenhower Medical Center (Rancho Mirage) | Hospital | $25cash | 0.5× | ★★★★★ |
| Dignity Sequoia Hospital (Redwood City) | Hospital | $27cash | 0.5× | ★★★★★ |
| John Muir Health Walnut Creek Medical Center (Walnut Creek) | Hospital | $28cash | 0.5× | ★★★★★ |
| John Muir Health Concord Medical Center (Concord) | Hospital | $28cash | 0.5× | — |
| Dignity St. Mary Medical Center (Long Beach) | Hospital | $32cash | 0.6× | — |
| Dignity St. John's Regional Medical Center (Oxnard) | Hospital | $33cash | 0.6× | — |
| Dignity Dominican Hospital (Santa Cruz) | Hospital | $34cash | 0.7× | — |
| Dignity California Hospital Medical Center (Los Angeles) | Hospital | $36cash | 0.7× | — |
| Dignity Bakersfield Memorial Hospital (Bakersfield) | Hospital | $37cash | 0.7× | — |
| Dignity Mercy Medical Center Redding (Redding) | Hospital | $38cash | 0.7× | — |
| Desert Regional Medical Center (Palm Springs) | Hospital | $38cash | 0.7× | — |
| JFK Memorial Hospital (Indio) | Hospital | $38cash | 0.7× | — |
| Providence St. Mary Medical Center (Apple Valley) | Hospital | $48cash | 0.9× | — |
| Providence St. Jude Medical Center (Fullerton) | Hospital | $48cash | 0.9× | ★★★★★ |
| Providence Mission Hospital (Mission Viejo) | Hospital | $48cash | 0.9× | ★★★★★ |
| Providence St. Joseph Hospital (Orange) | Hospital | $48cash | 0.9× | ★★★★★ |
| Centinela Hospital Medical Center (Inglewood) | Hospital | $51cash | 1.0× | — |
| Providence Queen of the Valley Medical Center (Napa) | Hospital | $51cash | 1.0× | — |
| Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital (Santa Rosa) | Hospital | $51cash | 1.0× | — |
| Tri-City Medical Center (Oceanside) | Hospital | $52cash | 1.0× | — |
| Adventist Health Bakersfield (Bakersfield) | Hospital | $52cash | 1.0× | — |
| Adventist Health Glendale (Glendale) | Hospital | $52cash | 1.0× | ★★★★★ |
| UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center (Santa Monica) | Hospital | $54negotiated | 1.1× | ★★★★★ |
| Scripps Green Hospital (La Jolla) | Hospital | $55cash | 1.1× | ★★★★★ |
| Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego (San Diego) | Hospital | $55cash | 1.1× | ★★★★★ |
| Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas (Encinitas) | Hospital | $55cash | 1.1× | ★★★★★ |
| Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla (La Jolla) | Hospital | $55cash | 1.1× | ★★★★★ |
| Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista (Chula Vista) | Hospital | $55cash | 1.1× | — |
| Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center (Los Angeles) | Hospital | $56negotiated | 1.1× | ★★★★★ |
| UCSF Medical Center (San Francisco) | Hospital | $60cash | 1.2× | ★★★★★ |
| Dignity St. Joseph's Medical Center (Stockton) | Hospital | $61cash | 1.2× | — |
| Good Samaritan Hospital (San Jose) | Hospital | $62cash | 1.2× | — |
| Adventist Health White Memorial (Los Angeles) | Hospital | $63cash | 1.2× | — |
| Loma Linda University Medical Center – Murrieta (Murrieta) | Hospital | $64cash | 1.2× | — |
| Adventist Health Simi Valley (Simi Valley) | Hospital | $64cash | 1.3× | — |
| Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center (Pomona) | Hospital | $65cash | 1.3× | ★★★★★ |
| UCI Health – Lakewood (Lakewood) | Hospital | $69negotiated | 1.4× | — |
| UCI Health – Fountain Valley (Fountain Valley) | Hospital | $69negotiated | 1.4× | — |
| UCI Health – Placentia Linda (Placentia) | Hospital | $69negotiated | 1.4× | — |
| UCI Health – Los Alamitos (Los Alamitos) | Hospital | $69negotiated | 1.4× | — |
| USC Arcadia Hospital (Arcadia) | Hospital | $70cash | 1.4× | — |
| Los Robles Health System (Thousand Oaks) | Hospital | $71cash | 1.4× | — |
| Providence Holy Cross Medical Center (Mission Hills) | Hospital | $83cash | 1.6× | — |
| Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (Torrance) | Hospital | $83negotiated | 1.6× | — |
| Los Angeles General Medical Center (Los Angeles) | Hospital | $88negotiated | 1.7× | ★★★★★ |
| Community Regional Medical Center (Fresno) | Hospital | $92cash | 1.8× | — |
| Clovis Community Medical Center (Clovis) | Hospital | $92cash | 1.8× | — |
| Kaiser Permanente Fontana Medical Center (Fontana) | Hospital | $96cash | 1.9× | — |
| Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center (Los Angeles) | Hospital | $96cash | 1.9× | ★★★★★ |
| Kaiser Permanente San Diego Zion Medical Center (San Diego) | Hospital | $96cash | 1.9× | ★★★★★ |
| Highland Hospital – Alameda Health System (Oakland) | Hospital | $100cash | 1.9× | — |
| Natividad Medical Center (Salinas) | Hospital | $103cash | 2.0× | — |
| Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian (Newport Beach) | Hospital | $103cash | 2.0× | ★★★★★ |
| Kaweah Health Medical Center (Visalia) | Hospital | $107cash | 2.1× | — |
| MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center (Fountain Valley) | Hospital | $110cash | 2.1× | — |
| MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center (Laguna Hills) | Hospital | $110cash | 2.1× | ★★★★★ |
| MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center (Long Beach) | Hospital | $110cash | 2.1× | ★★★★★ |
| Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center (San Francisco) | Hospital | $113cash | 2.2× | ★★★★★ |
| Kaiser Permanente Fresno Medical Center (Fresno) | Hospital | $113cash | 2.2× | — |
| Kaiser Permanente Sacramento Medical Center (Sacramento) | Hospital | $113cash | 2.2× | ★★★★★ |
| Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center (Burbank) | Hospital | $116cash | 2.3× | — |
| UC Davis Medical Center (Sacramento) | Hospital | $126cash | 2.5× | ★★★★★ |
| Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley (Pleasanton) | Hospital | $126cash | 2.5× | — |
| UC San Diego Health - Hillcrest & Jacobs Medical Center (San Diego) | Hospital | $133cash | 2.6× | — |
| Riverside University Health System Medical Center (Moreno Valley) | Hospital | $142cash | 2.8× | — |
| Loma Linda University Medical Center (Loma Linda) | Hospital | $159cash | 3.1× | ★★★★★ |
| UCI Medical Center (Orange) | Hospital | $160cash | 3.1× | ★★★★★ |
| Stanford Health Care (Stanford) | Hospital | $167cash | 3.3× | ★★★★★ |
| Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center (Tarzana) | Hospital | $177cash | 3.5× | ★★★★★ |
| Keck Hospital of USC (Los Angeles) | Hospital | $202cash | 3.9× | ★★★★★ |
| Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford (Palo Alto) | Hospital | $208cash | 4.1× | — |
| Providence Little Company of Mary Torrance (Torrance) | Hospital | $223cash | 4.4× | ★★★★★ |
| Sharp Memorial Hospital (San Diego) | Hospital | $227cash | 4.4× | ★★★★★ |
| Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center (Chula Vista) | Hospital | $227cash | 4.4× | — |
| Sharp Coronado Hospital (Coronado) | Hospital | $227cash | 4.4× | ★★★★★ |
| Sharp Grossmont Hospital (La Mesa) | Hospital | $227cash | 4.4× | ★★★★★ |
| Riverside Community Hospital (Riverside) | Hospital | $237cash | 4.6× | — |
| Rady Children's Hospital (San Diego) | Hospital | $268cash | 5.2× | — |
| Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles) gross charge | Hospital | $331cash | 6.4× | ★★★★★ |
| Sutter Medical Center Sacramento (Sacramento) gross charge | Hospital | $360cash | 7.0× | ★★★★★ |
| Sutter Memorial Medical Center (Modesto) gross charge | Hospital | $360cash | 7.0× | — |
| Sutter Roseville Medical Center (Roseville) gross charge | Hospital | $360cash | 7.0× | ★★★★★ |
| Sutter Alta Bates Summit Medical Center (Oakland) gross charge | Hospital | $382cash | 7.4× | — |
| Sutter Eden Medical Center (Castro Valley) gross charge | Hospital | $382cash | 7.4× | — |
| Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital (Santa Rosa) gross charge | Hospital | $382cash | 7.4× | — |
| Sutter Mills-Peninsula Medical Center (Burlingame) gross charge | Hospital | $382cash | 7.4× | ★★★★★ |
| Sutter CPMC Van Ness Campus (San Francisco) gross charge | Hospital | $382cash | 7.4× | — |
Prices from each hospital's public machine-readable file; imaging & surgery-center prices are published self-pay rates (often the cheapest option). vs Medicare is how many times the Medicare rate each facility charges. 9 unusually low/high prices excluded from the typical price as likely data errors.
💬 What to say — negotiation scripts
- For 87635 (SARS-CoV-2 (COVID) PCR), Medicare's benchmark rate is $51.31. A fair self-pay target for this line is $87.65. If I was charged more than that, please reduce it toward this benchmark.
- Your own published cash / self-pay price for 87635 is $87.65, and negotiated rates at nearby facilities run $51.00–$139.62. Please apply a rate in that range to my bill rather than the gross charge.
- Please send a fully itemized bill listing every CPT/HCPCS/DRG code and its individual charge, so I can review each line against published rates.
- Separately, what is your financial assistance / charity care policy, and am I eligible? Please send me the application and the income thresholds.
See SARS-CoV-2 (COVID) PCR prices in another area
What should 87635 cost in California?
For SARS-CoV-2 (COVID) PCR (CPT 87635) in California, a fair self-pay price is around $69, with hospitals ranging from $51 to $140 across 92 facilities. Medicare's benchmark rate is $51, the floor to negotiate toward. The card above lists each hospital's price, cheapest first, with CMS quality stars.
Frequently asked questions
How much does SARS-CoV-2 (COVID) PCR cost in California?
A fair self-pay price for SARS-CoV-2 (COVID) PCR (CPT 87635) in California is around $69, with hospital prices ranging from $51 to $140 across 92 facilities. These are estimates from hospital-published prices, not a guarantee.
What is the Medicare rate for CPT 87635?
Medicare pays about $51 for SARS-CoV-2 (COVID) PCR (CPT 87635). That's the negotiation floor — a fair cash-pay target is roughly 1.5–2× it, well below typical gross charges.
Can I negotiate the price of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID) PCR?
Yes. Under the federal Hospital Price Transparency rule hospitals must publish these rates, so you can ask to pay the cash or negotiated rate instead of the gross charge. Paste your bill on the home page for a ready-to-send appeal letter and the exact numbers to cite.
Got a bill for this?
If you were charged more than the fair price, you can usually negotiate it down. Paste your itemized bill to get a personalized appeal letter, the exact numbers to cite, an AI negotiation coach, and a charity-care eligibility check — free.
Compare other procedures in California
Screening mammogram, bilateralDiagnostic mammogram, unilateralDiagnostic mammogram, bilateralDEXA bone density scanColonoscopy, diagnosticScreening colonoscopy (average risk)Chest X-ray, 2 viewsChest X-ray, 1 view
Prices last refreshed September 2026 from each hospital's official CMS machine-readable file. Medicare rate: CY2025 OPPS/PFS/CLFS. Estimates only — not a guarantee.