Lab drug screen cost in Santa Cruz, CA
In Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA, 3 hospitals list a cash price for drug screen by lab instrument (any number of drug classes): from $13.21 to $781.00, with a median of $54.00. The lowest listed price is at Watsonville Community Hospital — $40.79 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $71.42 at 214 hospitals.
Cash prices at 3 facilities across 2 cities for code 80307, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Feb 28, 2026 and Sep 15, 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 Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watsonville Community Hospital lowest Watsonville, CA · (831) 724-4741 Q7178Z MARIJ-100 SCN | $13.21 | $22.02 | $62.14–$730.17 | 40% | Sep 15, 2026 source file |
| Watsonville Community Hospital Watsonville, CA · (831) 724-4741 Q453 DRUG SCN4 MEC | $30.00 | $50.00 | $62.14–$730.17 | 40% | Sep 15, 2026 source file |
| Watsonville Community Hospital Watsonville, CA · (831) 724-4741 ACETAMINOPHEN | $38.85 | $64.75 | $62.14–$730.17 | 40% | Sep 15, 2026 source file |
| Dominican Hospital Santa Cruz, CA · (831) 462-7700 DRG SCR PRESUM CHEM ANALY | $54.00 | $120.00 | $43.50–$591.92 | 55% | Feb 28, 2026 source file |
| Watsonville Community Hospital Watsonville, CA · (831) 724-4741 PRS DRG IA ANAZ | $356.04 | $593.40 | $62.14–$730.17 | 40% | Sep 15, 2026 source file |
| Watsonville Community Hospital Watsonville, CA · (831) 724-4741 DRUG TEST PRSMV CHEM ANLYZR | $356.04 | $593.40 | $62.14–$730.17 | 40% | Sep 15, 2026 source file |
| Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center of Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA · (831) 477-2200 HCHG DRUG SCREEN CLASS LIST A | $781.00 | $781.00 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center of Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA · (831) 477-2200 HCHG ALCOHOLS URINE | $781.00 | $781.00 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center of Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA · (831) 477-2200 HCHG CORE ALCOHOLS URINE | $781.00 | $781.00 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center of Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA · (831) 477-2200 HCHG CORE DRUG SCREEN CLASS LIST A | $781.00 | $781.00 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $13.21, median $54.00, highest $781.00 — a 59.1× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 3 facilities here, median $54.00. 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 2 of 2 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
This lab drug screen checks a urine or blood sample for many drug classes using lab instruments. It is used in emergency care, pain management and some workplace or legal testing.
What the price covers
The price usually covers running the test; collecting the sample may be billed separately.
1 row held back from this comparison
It is priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 80307 ($128.28). 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.
| Dominican Hospital Santa Cruz, CARL-A-CDASU 7 92184 | $9.86 | file |