Itemized  ·  Compare  ·  Rady Children's Hospital San Diego vs Sharp Memorial Hospital

Rady Children's Hospital San Diego vs Sharp Memorial Hospital.

Side-by-side prices for 38 procedures both hospitals publish, plus CMS quality ratings and metro context. Pulled from each hospital's federally-mandated price transparency file. Rady Children's Hospital San Diego is cheaper on more procedures (19 vs 6).

Rady Children's Hospital San Diego
San Diego, CA
Rady Children's
Cheaper on 19 of 38 procedures
vs.
Sharp Memorial Hospital
San Diego, CA
Sharp HealthCare
4/5 CMS
Cheaper on 6 of 38 procedures

Head-to-head, by procedure.

Procedure Rady Sharp Cheaper
Brain MRI without contrast $3,465 $3,036 Sharp ↓
Brain MRI with and without contrast $6,107 $4,562 Sharp ↓
Lumbar spine MRI without contrast $5,064 $3,112 Sharp ↓
Knee/lower-extremity MRI without contrast $4,478 $3,247 Sharp ↓
CT abdomen and pelvis with contrast $4,039 $4,994 Rady ↓
Abdominal ultrasound, complete $386 $1,400 Rady ↓
Mammogram, screening — $435 tie
DXA bone density scan $884 $647 Sharp ↓
Chest X-ray, single view $140 $457 Rady ↓
Comprehensive metabolic panel $15 $339 Rady ↓
Lipid panel $62 $11 Sharp ↓
CBC with differential $51 $148 Rady ↓
TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) $12 $24 Rady ↓
Hemoglobin A1c $36 $65 Rady ↓
Urinalysis $17 $22 Rady ↓
Knee arthroscopy with meniscectomy — $4,688 tie
Total hip replacement — $9,246 tie
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy — $997 tie
Inguinal hernia repair, open — $506 tie
Cataract surgery, one eye — $6,604 tie
Vaginal delivery, global — $11,025 tie
Cesarean delivery, global — $759 tie
Colonoscopy, diagnostic — $1,415 tie
Colonoscopy with polyp removal — $1,415 tie
Upper endoscopy (EGD) with biopsy $733 $3,014 Rady ↓
Echocardiogram, complete with Doppler $1,598 $4,104 Rady ↓
Office visit, established patient, level 3 $62 $296 Rady ↓
Office visit, established patient, level 4 $36 $353 Rady ↓
Carpal tunnel release — $1,519 tie
Lumbar epidural steroid injection $303 $2,794 Rady ↓
Polysomnography (sleep study) $5,423 $5,535 Rady ↓
Total abdominal hysterectomy — $3,047 tie
Thyroid ultrasound $302 $1,016 Rady ↓
New patient office visit, level 3 $94 $337 Rady ↓
New patient office visit, level 4 $65 $455 Rady ↓
Ureteroscopy with lithotripsy (kidney stone) — $1,848 tie
Prostate biopsy $2,156 $3,221 Rady ↓
Carotid duplex ultrasound $1,157 $1,241 Rady ↓

Patient experience.

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

Measure Rady Sharp
HCAHPS overall star rating — 4/5
Would definitely recommend — 80%
Hospital rating 9 or 10 of 10 — 78%
Nurses always communicated well — 81%
Doctors always communicated well — 79%
Given clear info about recovery — 89%
Room and bathroom always clean — 73%
Staff always explained meds — 62%
Quiet at night, always — 60%

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.