Cataract Surgery Cost in California (2026): Average Prices & What You'll Pay

What does a cataract surgery cost in California?

The same cataract surgery in California might cost you $841 at one facility and $2,953 at another — the building you walk into drives the difference. The median cash price across 113 reporting hospitals is $1,345. These figures come straight from hospital price transparency files published under federal law.

California prices for a cataract surgery span 69.2× across 113 reporting hospitals, from $307 (WATSONVILLE COMMUNITY HOSPITAL in Watsonville) up to $21,247 (PIH Health Downey Hospital) for identical care. Half of California facilities price it at or below $1,345, with most clustered between $664 and $2,953. Insurers negotiate this down to a median of $1,008, while self-pay patients are quoted $1,385. Location within the state matters too: San Francisco has the lowest metro median ($546) while Orange runs highest ($2,968) — a 5.4× difference inside California alone.

Where cataract surgery costs vary in California

Pins show hospitals with price-transparency data (colored by vs. state average) and nearby ambulatory surgery centers, imaging centers, and other facilities (colored by type). Click any pin for facility name and estimated cost range.

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The facility you choose matters more than almost anything else — the same procedure, same quality, same state can cost 5× more at one hospital versus the one down the road.

→ Compare all procedure costs   → Cataract Surgery costs nationwide

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Lower-cost options in California start around $664 or below. Most hospitals cluster between $664 and $2,968. A smaller group reports prices above that — often academic medical centers or high-cost markets.

If you're comparing specific hospitals, the lowest self-pay rates reported in this dataset include: Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego (cash price from $518); Mercy Medical Center Merced in Merced (cash price from $528); Palomar Medical Center Poway in Poway (cash price from $533). These are declared cash prices — contact each facility for a formal quote before scheduling.

California Cataract Surgery prices by facility

All prices below come from hospital chargemasters — the official price lists each hospital must publish under federal law. Gross charge is the undiscounted list price; cash price is the self-pay rate; negotiated range covers the spread across insurance contracts.

Source: CMS hospital price transparency machine-readable files. vs Median = savings or premium relative to the state median price. Gross Charge = undiscounted list price for reference.

Received a bill? Check it for errors → Estimate YOUR cost before you go →

Compare other procedures in California:

• Appendectomy Cost in California
• Childbirth Cost in California

Where you can save the most on cataract surgery in California

These facilities have the lowest declared prices relative to the state median — they represent the best opportunities to reduce your out-of-pocket cost for this procedure.

Most expensive cataract surgery providers in California

These facilities report the highest prices for this procedure. Academic medical centers and specialty hospitals often top this list — their gross charges rarely reflect what anyone actually pays, but understanding the spread helps you negotiate.

Why prices vary this much

A small number of hospitals (2) report very high prices above $6,424, which drives much of the overall price range. Excluding these, most facilities cluster in a significantly tighter band.

Setting drives much of the gap in California: the median outpatient price is $1,345 versus $1,047 inpatient, so where a procedure is performed often matters more than which hospital you choose. Of the California facilities reporting prices, 29 fall in a low-cost tier (up to $664) while 30 sit in a high-cost tier ($2,968 and up) — a lower-priced option almost always exists within the same state.

Among the cities with the most reporting hospitals, Los Angeles has a median reported price of $1,644 across 6 facilities, while facilities in San Francisco tend to report lower prices (median: $546). City-level variation within a state often reflects local market structure, not procedure complexity.

The spread comes from how each hospital sets its chargemaster (the undiscounted list price), what cash discounts it applies, and what rates it negotiates with each insurer. Facility classification matters too — a hospital-owned outpatient center adds a facility fee that a freestanding clinic does not. Understanding these mechanics is the first step to paying less.

Learn more:
→ Allowed amount vs negotiated rate — what your EOB is really saying
→ How to read your medical bill
→ Why hospital prices are so hard to find — and what to do about it

How insurance changes what you actually pay

Hospital list prices are only part of the picture. What you pay out of pocket depends on your deductible, your plan's out-of-pocket maximum, whether the facility is in-network, and whether your plan classifies the visit as outpatient or inpatient. A lower gross charge doesn't guarantee a lower bill if the facility is out-of-network or adds facility fees your plan doesn't cover.

Understand your cost before you go:
→ Deductible vs out-of-pocket max
→ EOB vs medical bill — complete guide
→ How to stop medical bill problems before they start (in-network vs out-of-network)

Compare cataract surgery costs in nearby states

• Nevada
• Arizona
• Oregon
• Washington

Frequently asked questions: cataract surgery costs in California

How much does a cataract surgery cost in California?

Across 113 California hospitals that publish prices, a cataract surgery ranges from $307 to $21,247, with a median of $1,345. Most facilities fall between $664 and $2,953. What you pay depends on the facility, your insurance, and whether you have met your deductible.

Where is the cheapest place to get a cataract surgery in California?

Based on declared prices, the lowest-cost facility in our California data is ADVENTIST HEALTH - CLEAR LAKE at about $119. By metro, San Francisco has the lowest median ($546). Freestanding ambulatory surgery and imaging centers are often cheaper still and may not appear in hospital price data — ask your doctor whether one is an option.

Why is a cataract surgery so much cheaper at some California hospitals?

Prices vary up to 69.2× because each hospital sets its own list price, cash discount, and insurer-negotiated rates. In California, the median cash (self-pay) price is $1,385 versus a median negotiated rate of $1,008 — about 1.4× higher. Asking for the cash price or your insurer's negotiated rate is often the single biggest lever on what you pay.

How much will I actually pay out of pocket for a cataract surgery in California?

Your out-of-pocket cost depends on your deductible, coinsurance, out-of-pocket maximum, and whether the facility is in-network — not just the sticker price. If you have not met your deductible, you will typically pay the negotiated rate in full until you do. Use the CostKits cost forecaster to estimate your specific out-of-pocket amount before you go.

Explore all cataract surgery cost data

→ See cataract surgery costs across all states