Bone density scan cost in San Francisco (2026): what Aetna, Anthem, Blue Shield, UnitedHealthcare and Cigna pay

Bone density scan (DEXA) of the hip and spine, CPT 77080. Also called DEXA scan, DXA scan, osteoporosis screening. In-network rates by insurer.

Bone density scan cost in San Francisco, 2026: in the San Francisco area, insurers pay a typical $65 for a bone density scan at doctors' offices and imaging centers. By insurer, the typical office rate runs from $58 (Blue Shield of California) to $90 (Anthem Blue Cross). Original Medicare's rate is $53 here. Rates from five insurers' published files, for providers within 20 miles of downtown San Francisco.

What each insurer pays

InsurerOffices and imaging centers
median, middle half		Billing entities
Anthem Blue Cross$90
$57 to $118		222
Blue Shield of California$58
$50 to $76		60
Aetna$72
$43 to $111		120
UnitedHealthcare$59
$44 to $78		89
Cigna$76
$56 to $110		92
Original Medicare$53-

Anthem Blue Cross figures reflect the menu of rates Anthem lists across its contracts, not contract-specific prices (why). Kaiser Permanente is not listed. Most Kaiser care is prepaid inside its own system, and it does not publish usable per-service rates.

Anthem Blue Cross negotiated rate for a bone density scan in San Francisco

Across 222 billing entities in the San Francisco area, the middle of Anthem's rate menu for a bone density scan at offices and imaging centers is $90, and the middle half of those values runs from $57 to $118. That office median is 1.7 times what Original Medicare pays. Anthem lists the same menu of rates under nearly every contract, so these figures show the middle of that menu, not the rate a specific provider is paid. For your plan's exact price, use Anthem's Find Care and cost estimates.

Blue Shield of California negotiated rate for a bone density scan in San Francisco

Blue Shield of California pays a median of $58 for a bone density scan at offices and imaging centers in the San Francisco area, with the middle half of 60 billing entities between $50 and $76. That office median is 1.1 times what Original Medicare pays. For your plan's exact price, use Blue Shield's Treatment Cost Estimator.

Aetna negotiated rate for a bone density scan in San Francisco

Aetna pays a median of $72 for a bone density scan at offices and imaging centers in the San Francisco area, with the middle half of 120 billing entities between $43 and $111. That office median is 1.4 times what Original Medicare pays. For your plan's exact price, use Aetna's Find Care cost estimates.

UnitedHealthcare negotiated rate for a bone density scan in San Francisco

UnitedHealthcare pays a median of $59 for a bone density scan at offices and imaging centers in the San Francisco area, with the middle half of 89 billing entities between $44 and $78. That office median is 1.1 times what Original Medicare pays. For your plan's exact price, use UnitedHealthcare's price transparency tool.

Cigna negotiated rate for a bone density scan in San Francisco

Cigna pays a median of $76 for a bone density scan at offices and imaging centers in the San Francisco area, with the middle half of 92 billing entities between $56 and $110. That office median is 1.4 times what Original Medicare pays. For your plan's exact price, use the myCigna cost estimator (sign in).

About a bone density scan

A low-dose X-ray scan that measures bone density in the hip and spine, used to screen for and track osteoporosis. Billing code: CPT 77080.

What the price covers

  • Rates here are for the whole service billed as one charge: the scan and the radiologist's reading.
  • Osteoporosis screening is recommended for women 65 and older and for postmenopausal women under 65 at higher risk. When done as recommended screening, most plans cover it with no cost to you in network.

Paying without insurance

The rates on this page are what insurers pay in network, not cash prices. If you are paying yourself, they are still a useful benchmark: ask the provider for its self-pay price before you book and compare it with these rates and with Original Medicare's $53 for a bone density scan in San Francisco. Many freestanding imaging centers post cash prices for scans. Hospitals must publish a discounted cash price under federal price transparency rules, and if you are uninsured or paying yourself, the No Surprises Act entitles you to a written good faith estimate before scheduled care.

Get the price for your exact plan

An insurer has many contracts, and each plan uses one of them. The figures on this page cover all of an insurer's contracts in the area. The price for your plan depends on which one applies, and that is set by your employer or the plan name on your insurance card.

Your insurer's own cost tool gives a plan-specific estimate once you sign in:

AI assistants can look it up too. Arlo's free price transparency API and the Arlo MCP server for Claude and ChatGPT take a service, a ZIP code and a plan, and return nearby in-network providers with their negotiated rates.

Where these numbers come from

Rates come from the price transparency files Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield of California, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare and Cigna publish, for providers within 20 miles of downtown San Francisco. We clean the files before summarizing them and only show an insurer when enough providers report a rate. Medicare figures are from the 2026 Physician Fee Schedule. More on how these pages are built.