How much does physical therapy evaluation, moderate cost in California?
CPT 97162 — 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.
97162 Physical therapy evaluation, moderate
Ask to pay
$196
About 2.0× what Medicare pays — most hospitals accept a self-pay rate in this range.
Typical
$317
Medicare $98
Ask $196
$51 lowboxed = typical rangehigh $10,644
What Medicare paysⓘ
$98
Typical price near you
$317
Cash / self-pay price
$354
Prices near you — 80 facilities, lowest first
| Facility | Type | Price | vs Medicare | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eisenhower Medical Center (Rancho Mirage) lowest | Hospital | $51cash | 0.5× | ★★★★★ |
| Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla (La Jolla) | Hospital | $62cash | 0.6× | ★★★★★ |
| Scripps Green Hospital (La Jolla) | Hospital | $62cash | 0.6× | ★★★★★ |
| Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego (San Diego) | Hospital | $62cash | 0.6× | ★★★★★ |
| Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas (Encinitas) | Hospital | $62cash | 0.6× | ★★★★★ |
| Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista (Chula Vista) | Hospital | $62cash | 0.6× | — |
| Centinela Hospital Medical Center (Inglewood) | Hospital | $108cash | 1.1× | — |
| Adventist Health Bakersfield (Bakersfield) | Hospital | $114cash | 1.2× | — |
| Providence St. Joseph Hospital (Orange) | Hospital | $125cash | 1.3× | ★★★★★ |
| UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center (Santa Monica) | Hospital | $126negotiated | 1.3× | ★★★★★ |
| Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center (Los Angeles) | Hospital | $133negotiated | 1.4× | ★★★★★ |
| Adventist Health Simi Valley (Simi Valley) | Hospital | $136cash | 1.4× | — |
| Adventist Health Glendale (Glendale) | Hospital | $137cash | 1.4× | ★★★★★ |
| Los Angeles General Medical Center (Los Angeles) | Hospital | $147negotiated | 1.5× | ★★★★★ |
| Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (Torrance) | Hospital | $147negotiated | 1.5× | — |
| Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center (Tarzana) | Hospital | $152cash | 1.5× | ★★★★★ |
| Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian (Newport Beach) | Hospital | $154negotiated | 1.6× | ★★★★★ |
| USC Arcadia Hospital (Arcadia) | Hospital | $176cash | 1.8× | — |
| Providence Mission Hospital (Mission Viejo) | Hospital | $180cash | 1.8× | ★★★★★ |
| UCSF Medical Center (San Francisco) | Hospital | $191cash | 1.9× | ★★★★★ |
| Providence Queen of the Valley Medical Center (Napa) | Hospital | $191cash | 2.0× | — |
| Loma Linda University Medical Center – Murrieta (Murrieta) | Hospital | $204cash | 2.1× | — |
| Providence Holy Cross Medical Center (Mission Hills) | Hospital | $216cash | 2.2× | — |
| UCI Medical Center (Orange) | Hospital | $220cash | 2.2× | ★★★★★ |
| UCI Health – Los Alamitos (Los Alamitos) | Hospital | $220cash | 2.2× | — |
| UCI Health – Fountain Valley (Fountain Valley) | Hospital | $220cash | 2.2× | — |
| UCI Health – Placentia Linda (Placentia) | Hospital | $220cash | 2.2× | — |
| Dignity St. John's Regional Medical Center (Oxnard) | Hospital | $222cash | 2.3× | — |
| Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital (Santa Rosa) | Hospital | $230cash | 2.3× | — |
| John Muir Health Concord Medical Center (Concord) | Hospital | $234cash | 2.4× | — |
| UC Davis Medical Center (Sacramento) | Hospital | $242cash | 2.5× | ★★★★★ |
| Adventist Health White Memorial (Los Angeles) | Hospital | $245cash | 2.5× | — |
| Providence Little Company of Mary Torrance (Torrance) | Hospital | $249cash | 2.5× | ★★★★★ |
| UC San Diego Health - Hillcrest & Jacobs Medical Center (San Diego) | Hospital | $251cash | 2.6× | — |
| John Muir Health Walnut Creek Medical Center (Walnut Creek) | Hospital | $252cash | 2.6× | ★★★★★ |
| Highland Hospital – Alameda Health System (Oakland) | Hospital | $264cash | 2.7× | — |
| Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley (Pleasanton) | Hospital | $300cash | 3.1× | — |
| Tri-City Medical Center (Oceanside) | Hospital | $317cash | 3.2× | — |
| Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center (Burbank) | Hospital | $317cash | 3.2× | — |
| Kaweah Health Medical Center (Visalia) | Hospital | $333cash | 3.4× | — |
| Providence St. Jude Medical Center (Fullerton) | Hospital | $335cash | 3.4× | ★★★★★ |
| Clovis Community Medical Center (Clovis) | Hospital | $354cash | 3.6× | — |
| Community Regional Medical Center (Fresno) | Hospital | $354cash | 3.6× | — |
| Loma Linda University Medical Center (Loma Linda) | Hospital | $356cash | 3.6× | ★★★★★ |
| Kaiser Permanente Fontana Medical Center (Fontana) | Hospital | $357cash | 3.6× | — |
| Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center (Los Angeles) | Hospital | $357cash | 3.6× | ★★★★★ |
| Kaiser Permanente San Diego Zion Medical Center (San Diego) | Hospital | $357cash | 3.6× | ★★★★★ |
| Sharp Memorial Hospital (San Diego) | Hospital | $360cash | 3.7× | ★★★★★ |
| Sharp Grossmont Hospital (La Mesa) | Hospital | $360cash | 3.7× | ★★★★★ |
| Kaiser Permanente Sacramento Medical Center (Sacramento) | Hospital | $381cash | 3.9× | ★★★★★ |
| Kaiser Permanente Fresno Medical Center (Fresno) | Hospital | $381cash | 3.9× | — |
| Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center (San Francisco) | Hospital | $381cash | 3.9× | ★★★★★ |
| Natividad Medical Center (Salinas) | Hospital | $442cash | 4.5× | — |
| UCI Health – Lakewood (Lakewood) | Hospital | $443cash | 4.5× | — |
| Rady Children's Hospital (San Diego) | Hospital | $488cash | 5.0× | — |
| Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center (Pomona) | Hospital | $491negotiated | 5.0× | ★★★★★ |
| Providence St. Mary Medical Center (Apple Valley) | Hospital | $494cash | 5.0× | — |
| Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford (Palo Alto) | Hospital | $514cash | 5.2× | — |
| Sutter Medical Center Sacramento (Sacramento) | Hospital | $558cash | 5.7× | ★★★★★ |
| Sutter Alta Bates Summit Medical Center (Oakland) | Hospital | $558cash | 5.7× | — |
| Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital (Santa Rosa) | Hospital | $558cash | 5.7× | — |
| Sutter Mills-Peninsula Medical Center (Burlingame) | Hospital | $558cash | 5.7× | ★★★★★ |
| Sutter Roseville Medical Center (Roseville) | Hospital | $558cash | 5.7× | ★★★★★ |
| Sutter Eden Medical Center (Castro Valley) | Hospital | $558cash | 5.7× | — |
| Sutter CPMC Van Ness Campus (San Francisco) | Hospital | $558cash | 5.7× | — |
| Sutter Memorial Medical Center (Modesto) | Hospital | $558cash | 5.7× | — |
| Stanford Health Care (Stanford) | Hospital | $603cash | 6.2× | ★★★★★ |
| MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center (Laguna Hills) | Hospital | $622cash | 6.3× | ★★★★★ |
| MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center (Fountain Valley) | Hospital | $622cash | 6.3× | — |
| MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center (Long Beach) | Hospital | $622cash | 6.3× | ★★★★★ |
| Los Robles Health System (Thousand Oaks) | Hospital | $769cash | 7.8× | — |
| Keck Hospital of USC (Los Angeles) | Hospital | $782cash | 8.0× | ★★★★★ |
| Desert Regional Medical Center (Palm Springs) | Hospital | $883cash | 9.0× | — |
| Riverside Community Hospital (Riverside) | Hospital | $897cash | 9.2× | — |
| Riverside University Health System Medical Center (Moreno Valley) | Hospital | $1,002cash | 10.2× | — |
| Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles) gross charge | Hospital | $1,432cash | 14.6× | ★★★★★ |
| Good Samaritan Hospital (San Jose) gross charge | Hospital | $2,637cash | 26.9× | — |
| JFK Memorial Hospital (Indio) gross charge | Hospital | $2,647cash | 27.0× | — |
| Sharp Coronado Hospital (Coronado) gross charge | Hospital | $10,644cash | 108.6× | ★★★★★ |
| Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center (Chula Vista) gross charge | Hospital | $10,644cash | 108.6× | — |
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. 5 unusually low/high prices excluded from the typical price as likely data errors.
💬 What to say — negotiation scripts
- For 97162 (Physical therapy evaluation, moderate), Medicare's benchmark rate is $98.01. A fair self-pay target for this line is $196.02. If I was charged more than that, please reduce it toward this benchmark.
- Your own published cash / self-pay price for 97162 is $354.40, and negotiated rates at nearby facilities run $190.91–$558.00. 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 physical therapy evaluation, moderate prices in another area
What should 97162 cost in California?
For physical therapy evaluation, moderate (CPT 97162) in California, a fair self-pay price is around $317, with hospitals ranging from $191 to $558 across 80 facilities. Medicare's benchmark rate is $98, 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 physical therapy evaluation, moderate cost in California?
A fair self-pay price for physical therapy evaluation, moderate (CPT 97162) in California is around $317, with hospital prices ranging from $191 to $558 across 80 facilities. These are estimates from hospital-published prices, not a guarantee.
What is the Medicare rate for CPT 97162?
Medicare pays about $98 for physical therapy evaluation, moderate (CPT 97162). 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 physical therapy evaluation, moderate?
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.
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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.