How much does a tonsillectomy cost in San Francisco Bay Area?
Surgical removal of the tonsils; bundle includes the with-adenoids variant. Below: the rates insurers have actually negotiated with 27 San Francisco Bay Area-area hospitals, and the cash (self-pay) prices where published — from the hospitals' own federally required price files.
$7,015
lowest median negotiated rate
California Pacific Medical Center – Davies Campus
$34,690
highest (adult hospitals)
Stanford Health Care
4.9×
price spread
same procedure, same metro
Median negotiated rate per hospital · sorted low → high · hover a bar for the full receipt
cash (self-pay) price
| Hospital | Gross charge | Cash price | Negotiated | Range | # rates | vs median |
|---|
* Specialty hospital (pediatric or cancer center) — rates reflect specialty case mix. † Median based on fewer than 3 published rates — treat as indicative. Bars show the median dollar-denominated commercial negotiated rate; hospitals sharing a health-system contract show similar rates.
SOURCE: standard-charges files from 27 hospitals · file dates 2026-03-01 → 2026-04-01 · retrieved 2026-08-15
Paying cash can beat using insurance. At Kaiser Permanente Antioch Medical Center, the self-pay price is $10,080 — less than the $12,272 median commercial-insurer rate. If you haven't met your deductible, ask for the cash rate.