Itemized  ·  Compare  ·  Kaiser Permanente LA Medical Center vs St. Mary Medical Center

Kaiser Permanente LA Medical Center vs St. Mary Medical Center.

Side-by-side prices for 29 procedures both hospitals publish, plus CMS quality ratings and metro context. Pulled from each hospital's federally-mandated price transparency file. St. Mary Medical Center is cheaper on more procedures (16 vs 2).

Los Angeles, CA
Kaiser Permanente
4/5 CMS
Cheaper on 2 of 29 procedures
vs.
Long Beach, CA
Dignity Health / CommonSpirit
4/5 CMS
Cheaper on 16 of 29 procedures

Head-to-head, by procedure.

Procedure Kaiser St. Cheaper
Brain MRI without contrast $2,600 $2,081 St. ↓
Brain MRI with and without contrast $3,068 $2,789 St. ↓
Lumbar spine MRI without contrast $2,496 $1,653 St. ↓
CT abdomen and pelvis with contrast $4,004 $341 St. ↓
Abdominal ultrasound, complete $1,191 $641 St. ↓
Mammogram, screening $380 $251 St. ↓
DXA bone density scan $473 $347 St. ↓
Chest X-ray, single view $364 $258 St. ↓
Comprehensive metabolic panel $269 $166 St. ↓
Lipid panel $101 $109 Kaiser ↓
CBC with differential $111 $64 St. ↓
TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) $109 $40 St. ↓
Hemoglobin A1c $64 $13 St. ↓
Urinalysis $50 $24 St. ↓
Knee arthroscopy with meniscectomy $5,148 tie
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy $13,208 tie
Inguinal hernia repair, open $7,389 tie
Cataract surgery, one eye $5,044 tie
Colonoscopy, diagnostic $2,080 tie
Colonoscopy with polyp removal $2,288 tie
Upper endoscopy (EGD) with biopsy $1,768 tie
Echocardiogram, complete with Doppler $2,688 $2,267 St. ↓
Carpal tunnel release $3,453 tie
Lumbar epidural steroid injection $1,940 tie
Septoplasty (deviated septum repair) $4,924 tie
Thyroid ultrasound $827 $349 St. ↓
Ureteroscopy with lithotripsy (kidney stone) $7,062 tie
Carotid duplex ultrasound $973 $1,283 Kaiser ↓
Psychotherapy, 45 minutes $318 $147 St. ↓

Patient experience.

CMS HCAHPS patient survey, period ending 03/31/2025. Bold = higher score.

Measure Kaiser St.
HCAHPS overall star rating 3/5 2/5
Would definitely recommend 75% 63%
Hospital rating 9 or 10 of 10 74% 64%
Nurses always communicated well 78% 73%
Doctors always communicated well 80% 72%
Given clear info about recovery 87% 83%
Room and bathroom always clean 72% 73%
Staff always explained meds 60% 59%
Quiet at night, always 55% 47%

Add your insurance.

Cash-pay is one number. With your insurance plan, the actual price differs. Pick your insurer in the comparison tool to see plan-specific rates at both hospitals.

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How to read this comparison.

The cash-pay price is what an uninsured patient would be charged at each hospital. It's the cleanest apples-to-apples comparison because it doesn't depend on your insurance plan.

The CMS rating is the federal quality composite, built from ~50 measures spanning safety, mortality, readmission, patient experience, and timeliness. A 5-star hospital may not be the best at every procedure, and a 3-star hospital can have a strong specific service line. Treat the rating as one input, not the answer.

For your specific insurance plan, prices can shift dramatically. Some hospitals negotiate steep discounts with one insurer and not another. Always check the plan-specific rate before you book.