Itemized  ·  Compare  ·  Stanford Health Care vs John Muir Health Walnut Creek Medical Center

Stanford Health Care vs John Muir Health Walnut Creek Medical Center.

Side-by-side prices for 32 procedures both hospitals publish, plus CMS quality ratings and metro context. Pulled from each hospital's federally-mandated price transparency file. John Muir Health Walnut Creek Medical Center is cheaper on more procedures (16 vs 12).

Stanford Health Care
Palo Alto, CA
Stanford Medicine
4/5 CMS
Cheaper on 12 of 32 procedures
vs.
John Muir Health Walnut Creek Medical Center
Walnut Creek, CA
John Muir Health
3/5 CMS
Cheaper on 16 of 32 procedures

Head-to-head, by procedure.

Procedure Stanford John Cheaper
Brain MRI without contrast $4,698 $2,960 John ↓
Brain MRI with and without contrast $6,788 $4,277 John ↓
Lumbar spine MRI without contrast $4,408 $2,320 John ↓
Knee/lower-extremity MRI without contrast $4,156 $2,210 John ↓
CT abdomen and pelvis with contrast $6,879 $1,987 John ↓
Abdominal ultrasound, complete $1,309 $874 John ↓
Mammogram, screening $287 $316 Stanford ↓
DXA bone density scan $618 $457 John ↓
Chest X-ray, single view $526 $249 John ↓
Comprehensive metabolic panel $497 $757 Stanford ↓
Lipid panel $265 $12 John ↓
CBC with differential $19 $32 Stanford ↓
TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) $11 $12 Stanford ↓
Hemoglobin A1c $126 $104 John ↓
Urinalysis $23 $21 John ↓
Knee arthroscopy with meniscectomy — $31,187 tie
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy $1,040 $67,154 Stanford ↓
Inguinal hernia repair, open $628 $23,054 Stanford ↓
Colonoscopy, diagnostic $3,432 $10,359 Stanford ↓
Colonoscopy with polyp removal $3,668 $15,547 Stanford ↓
Upper endoscopy (EGD) with biopsy $4,007 $17,368 Stanford ↓
Echocardiogram, complete with Doppler $4,826 $3,729 John ↓
Office visit, established patient, level 3 $182 $297 Stanford ↓
Office visit, established patient, level 4 $246 $394 Stanford ↓
Lumbar epidural steroid injection $3,048 $1,758 John ↓
Septoplasty (deviated septum repair) — $51,251 tie
Total abdominal hysterectomy — $51,289 tie
Thyroid ultrasound $1,119 $591 John ↓
New patient office visit, level 4 $371 $384 Stanford ↓
Ureteroscopy with lithotripsy (kidney stone) — $6,574 tie
Prostate biopsy $5,496 $2,972 John ↓
Carotid duplex ultrasound $2,333 $1,187 John ↓

Patient experience.

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

Measure Stanford John
HCAHPS overall star rating 3/5 3/5
Would definitely recommend 76% 76%
Hospital rating 9 or 10 of 10 70% 69%
Nurses always communicated well 77% 74%
Doctors always communicated well 81% 74%
Given clear info about recovery 88% 87%
Room and bathroom always clean 62% 64%
Staff always explained meds 59% 55%
Quiet at night, always 42% 53%

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.