Lipid panel cost in San Diego, CA
In San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA, 13 hospitals list a cash price for cholesterol and triglycerides (lipid panel) blood test: from $7.27 to $186.92, with a median of $13.00. The lowest listed price is at Palomar Medical Center Escondido and 1 other hospital — $5.73 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $101.40 at 214 hospitals.
- The median here, $13.00, is 85% below the US median of $85.00.
- That is about the same as Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($13.39).
- San Diego, CA has the lowest median of 5 metro areas in California with at least 10 hospitals pricing this code.
- Every hospital here lists a cash price below its full list price.
Cash prices at 13 facilities across 9 cities for code 80061, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Apr 1, 2026 and Sep 1, 2026.
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 Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palomar Medical Center Escondido lowest Escondido, CA Triglycerides File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $7.27 | $12.12 | — | 40% |
| Palomar Medical Center Poway lowest Poway, CA · (858) 485-6511 Triglycerides File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $7.27 | $12.12 | — | 40% |
| Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center Chula Vista, CA · (619) 502-5800 HC NMR LIPID PNL File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $10.50 | $14.00 | $4.16–$12.60 | 25% |
| Grossmont Hospital La Mesa, CA · (619) 465-0711 HC NMR LIPID PNL File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $10.50 | $14.00 | $1.00–$625.89 | 25% |
| Sharp Memorial Hospital San Diego, CA · (858) 939-3400 HC NMR LIPID PNL File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $10.50 | $14.00 | $5.88–$71.39 | 25% |
| Sharp Coronado Hospital and Healthcare Center Coronado, CA · (619) 435-6251 HC NMR LIPID PNL File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $10.50 | $14.00 | $1.00–$13.72 | 25% |
| Paradise Valley Hospital National City, CA · (619) 470-4321 CHOL, HDL, LDL, SMH+2 more lines at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $13.00 | $45.00 | $5.13–$135.14 | 71% |
| UC San Diego Medical Center San Diego, CA · (619) 543-6222 Blood test lipids (cholesterol and triglycerides) File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $13.75 | $25.00 | $3.00–$41.38 | 45% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Marcos San Marcos, CA · (760) 528-6295 LIPID PANEL File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $101.40 | $195.00 | $8.00–$25.00 | 48% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Diego - Zion San Diego, CA · (619) 528-5000 LIPID PANEL File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $101.40 | $195.00 | $8.00–$25.00 | 48% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Diego - Clairemont Mesa San Diego, CA · (619) 528-5000 LIPID PANEL File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $101.40 | $195.00 | $8.00–$25.00 | 48% |
| UC San Diego Medical Center San Diego, CA · (619) 543-6222 Blood Test, Lipids (Cholesterol And Triglycerides) File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $102.30 | $186.00 | $13.39–$251.10 | 45% |
| Rady Children's Hospital - San Diego San Diego, CA · (858) 576-1700 Rch Scren Lipid Panel+4 more lines at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $129.75 | $173.00 | — | 25% |
| Sharp Coronado Hospital and Healthcare Center Coronado, CA · (619) 435-6251 HC LIPID PANEL - BUNDLED CHARGE File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $145.50 | $194.00 | $1.15–$174.60 | 25% |
| Grossmont Hospital La Mesa, CA · (619) 465-0711 HC LIPID PANEL - BUNDLED CHARGE File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $145.50 | $194.00 | $1.00–$174.60 | 25% |
| Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center Chula Vista, CA · (619) 502-5800 HC LIPID PANEL - BUNDLED CHARGE File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $145.50 | $194.00 | $7.52–$6,545.74 | 25% |
| Sharp Memorial Hospital San Diego, CA · (858) 939-3400 HC LIPID PANEL - BUNDLED CHARGE File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $145.50 | $194.00 | $1.30–$190.12 | 25% |
| Rady Children's Hospital - San Diego San Diego, CA · (858) 576-1700 Rch Lab-Ama Lipid Panel+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $168.75 | $225.00 | — | 25% |
| Tri-City Medical Center Oceanside, CA · (760) 724-8411 Lipid Pnl+1 more line at this price File of May 29, 2026 · source file | $186.92 | $311.54 | $11.66–$245.81 | 40% |
| Palomar Medical Center Escondido Escondido, CA Lipid Panel File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $334.97 | $558.29 | — | 40% |
| Palomar Medical Center Poway Poway, CA · (858) 485-6511 Lipid Panel File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $334.97 | $558.29 | — | 40% |
Outpatient: lowest $7.27, median $13.00, highest $186.92 — a 25.7× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 12 facilities here, median $12.13. Inpatient and outpatient prices are not comparable and are kept on separate pages: the inpatient charge covers admission, not the same purchase.
Cash or insurance?
At 7 of 10 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at none is it 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 lipid panel is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Lipid panel explained.
1 row held back from this comparison
It is priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 80061 ($70.00). Such a line is almost always a physician's fee billed separately, an assistant's share or a placeholder — a real charge, but not the price of the procedure itself.
| Hospital | Cash price | File |
|---|---|---|
| Tri-City Medical Center Oceanside, CALipid Panel LC | $2.48 | file |