How much does office visit, new patient, level 3 cost in California?

CPT 99203 — 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.
99203 Office visit, new patient, level 3
Ask to pay
$218
About 2.0× what Medicare pays — most hospitals accept a self-pay rate in this range.
What Medicare paysⓘ
$109
Typical price near you
$201
Cash / self-pay price
$228
Prices near you — 64 facilities, lowest first
FacilityTypePricevs MedicareQuality
Adventist Health Bakersfield (Bakersfield) lowest ⚠ likely error Hospital $24cash 0.2× —
Adventist Health Glendale (Glendale) Hospital $28cash 0.3× ★★★★★
Adventist Health White Memorial (Los Angeles) Hospital $34cash 0.3× —
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center (Los Angeles) Hospital $57negotiated 0.5× ★★★★★
UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center (Santa Monica) Hospital $57negotiated 0.5× ★★★★★
Eisenhower Medical Center (Rancho Mirage) Hospital $66cash 0.6× ★★★★★
UCI Health – Placentia Linda (Placentia) Hospital $72cash 0.7× —
UCI Health – Fountain Valley (Fountain Valley) Hospital $72cash 0.7× —
UCI Health – Los Alamitos (Los Alamitos) Hospital $72cash 0.7× —
UCSF Medical Center (San Francisco) Hospital $74cash 0.7× ★★★★★
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford (Palo Alto) Hospital $78cash 0.7× —
Dignity Bakersfield Memorial Hospital (Bakersfield) Hospital $80cash 0.7× —
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. 4 unusually low/high prices excluded from the typical price as likely data errors.
💬 What to say — negotiation scripts
  • For 99203 (Office visit, new patient, level 3), Medicare's benchmark rate is $109.01. A fair self-pay target for this line is $218.02. If I was charged more than that, please reduce it toward this benchmark.
  • Your own published cash / self-pay price for 99203 is $227.87, and negotiated rates at nearby facilities run $108.87–$377.26. 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.
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What should 99203 cost in California?

For office visit, new patient, level 3 (CPT 99203) in California, a fair self-pay price is around $201, with hospitals ranging from $109 to $377 across 64 facilities. Medicare's benchmark rate is $109, 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 office visit, new patient, level 3 cost in California?

A fair self-pay price for office visit, new patient, level 3 (CPT 99203) in California is around $201, with hospital prices ranging from $109 to $377 across 64 facilities. These are estimates from hospital-published prices, not a guarantee.

What is the Medicare rate for CPT 99203?

Medicare pays about $109 for office visit, new patient, level 3 (CPT 99203). 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 office visit, new patient, level 3?

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.