Lab tests CPT 80051 Inpatient — admitted to hospital

Electrolyte panel cost in San Antonio, TX — inpatient

In San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX, 4 hospitals list a cash price for electrolyte panel (sodium, potassium, chloride, CO2) as an inpatient: from $17.25 to $574.64, with a median of $168.52. The lowest listed price is at University Health System — $151.27 less than the median here. Across Texas, the median is $193.35 at 259 hospitals.

Cash prices at 4 facilities across 3 cities for code 80051, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Oct 14, 2025 and Aug 6, 2026.

Lowest$17.25University Health System

Median$168.52half of hospitals charge less

Highest$574.64in this market

Difference33.3×highest vs lowest

Where each hospital's price falls

Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX.

median

Lowest $17.25Highest $574.64

Hospitals, cheapest first

Hospital	Cash price	List price	Insurers pay	Off list
University Health System lowest San Antonio, TX · (210) 358-2000 HC ELECTROLYTE PANEL File of Oct 14, 2025 · source file	$17.25	$69.00	$25.53–$58.65	75%
Guadalupe Regional Medical Center Seguin, TX · (830) 379-2411 ELECTROLYTE PANEL+1 more line at this price source file	$123.00	$246.00	$7.01–$246.00	50%
Medina Regional Hospital Hondo, TX · (830) 426-7700 ELECTROLYTES File of Jul 29, 2026 · source file	$214.04	$237.82	$118.91–$214.04	10%
Specialty Hospital of San Antonio Medical Center South San Antonio, TX Electrolyte Panel File of Aug 6, 2026 · source file	$574.64	$574.64	$402.25–$517.18	—

Hospital The hospital that published the price, its city and the line exactly as written in its price file.

Cash price The hospital's own price for a patient paying without insurance (“discounted cash” in its price file). Hospitals must publish it under federal law, 45 CFR 180.50. Call to confirm it before booking. More

List price The hospital's full chargemaster price (“gross charge”) before any discount. Almost nobody pays it; the gap to the cash price shows what the self-pay discount is worth. More

Insurers pay The lowest and highest rates this hospital has agreed with insurance plans for the same item, from its price file. If the cash price is below what your plan pays and you have not met your deductible, paying cash can cost you less. More

Off list How much lower the cash price is than the list price.

No cash discount This line's cash price equals the hospital's full list price. Many hospitals still reduce bills for uninsured patients: ask the billing office for its self-pay discount in writing. More

Inpatient: lowest $17.25, median $168.52, highest $574.64 — a 33.3× difference within the same market.

As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 13 facilities here, median $812.11 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.

Cash or insurance?

At 2 of 4 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at 1 it is below every plan's rate. If you have insurance but have not met your deductible, you usually pay your plan's negotiated rate, which falls somewhere in the "Insurers pay" column. Paying cash can cost less, but a cash payment usually does not count toward your deductible. Ask the hospital for both numbers before you book.

What it is

An electrolyte panel measures sodium, potassium, chloride and bicarbonate (CO2) in one blood sample. It checks fluid and acid balance in people with vomiting, diarrhea, kidney problems or on diuretics.

What the price covers

The price usually covers running the test. The blood draw (36415) is often billed as a separate line.