Itemized  ·  Compare  ·  Stanford Health Care vs Kaiser Permanente Redwood City Medical Center

Stanford Health Care vs Kaiser Permanente Redwood City Medical Center.

Side-by-side prices for 34 procedures both hospitals publish, plus CMS quality ratings and metro context. Pulled from each hospital's federally-mandated price transparency file. Kaiser Permanente Redwood City Medical Center is cheaper on more procedures (16 vs 13).

Stanford Health Care
Palo Alto, CA
Stanford Medicine
4/5 CMS
Cheaper on 13 of 34 procedures
vs.
Kaiser Permanente Redwood City Medical Center
Redwood City, CA
Kaiser Permanente
4/5 CMS
Cheaper on 16 of 34 procedures

Head-to-head, by procedure.

Procedure Stanford Kaiser Cheaper
Brain MRI without contrast $4,698 $3,629 Kaiser ↓
Brain MRI with and without contrast $6,788 $5,499 Kaiser ↓
Lumbar spine MRI without contrast $4,408 $3,282 Kaiser ↓
Knee/lower-extremity MRI without contrast $4,156 $3,438 Kaiser ↓
CT abdomen and pelvis with contrast $6,879 $4,754 Kaiser ↓
Abdominal ultrasound, complete $1,309 $991 Kaiser ↓
Mammogram, screening $287 $375 Stanford ↓
DXA bone density scan $618 $504 Kaiser ↓
Chest X-ray, single view $526 $476 Kaiser ↓
Comprehensive metabolic panel $497 $255 Kaiser ↓
Lipid panel $265 $156 Kaiser ↓
CBC with differential $19 $123 Stanford ↓
TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) $11 $155 Stanford ↓
Hemoglobin A1c $126 $80 Kaiser ↓
Urinalysis $23 $36 Stanford ↓
Knee arthroscopy with meniscectomy — $7,325 tie
Total knee replacement $2,495 $25,760 Stanford ↓
Total hip replacement $2,597 $9,162 Stanford ↓
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy $1,040 $19,219 Stanford ↓
Inguinal hernia repair, open $628 $18,726 Stanford ↓
Cataract surgery, one eye — $8,624 tie
Colonoscopy, diagnostic $3,432 $3,679 Stanford ↓
Colonoscopy with polyp removal $3,668 $3,466 Kaiser ↓
Upper endoscopy (EGD) with biopsy $4,007 $3,354 Kaiser ↓
EKG with interpretation $62 $90 Stanford ↓
Echocardiogram, complete with Doppler $4,826 $3,825 Kaiser ↓
Carpal tunnel release — $4,939 tie
Lumbar epidural steroid injection $3,048 $3,366 Stanford ↓
Polysomnography (sleep study) $4,320 $4,889 Stanford ↓
Septoplasty (deviated septum repair) — $9,990 tie
Thyroid ultrasound $1,119 $907 Kaiser ↓
Ureteroscopy with lithotripsy (kidney stone) — $12,090 tie
Carotid duplex ultrasound $2,333 $1,775 Kaiser ↓
Psychotherapy, 45 minutes $199 $582 Stanford ↓

Patient experience.

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

Measure Stanford Kaiser
HCAHPS overall star rating 3/5 4/5
Would definitely recommend 76% 81%
Hospital rating 9 or 10 of 10 70% 81%
Nurses always communicated well 77% 80%
Doctors always communicated well 81% 83%
Given clear info about recovery 88% 89%
Room and bathroom always clean 62% 78%
Staff always explained meds 59% 61%
Quiet at night, always 42% 58%

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.