Lab tests CPT 82040 Inpatient — admitted to hospital

Albumin test cost in El Centro, CA — inpatient

In El Centro, CA, 1 hospital lists a cash price for albumin blood test as an inpatient: from $8.56 to $8.56, with a median of $8.56. Across California, the median is $24.96 at 212 hospitals.

Cash prices at 1 facility for code 82040, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between — and —.

Lowest$8.56Pioneers Memorial Hospital

Median$8.56half of hospitals charge less

Highest$8.56in this market

Difference1.0×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 El Centro, CA.

median

Lowest $8.56Highest $21.50

Hospitals, cheapest first

Hospital	Cash price	List price	Insurers pay	Off list
Pioneers Memorial Hospital lowest Brawley, CA · (760) 351-3333 Albumin, Serum QSTS source file	$8.56	$24.45	$3.22–$38.89	65%
Pioneers Memorial Hospital Brawley, CA · (760) 351-3333 Albumin Level+1 more line at this price source file	$21.50	$61.43	$3.22–$38.89	65%

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.

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.

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.

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

Inpatient: lowest $8.56, median $8.56, highest $8.56.

As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 1 facility here, median $8.56 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.

Cash or insurance?

At the one hospital here that publishes insurer rates for this code, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated. 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 albumin test measures the main protein in blood plasma, made by the liver. Low levels point to liver disease, kidney protein loss or poor nutrition.

What the price covers

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

1 row held back from this comparison

It is priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 82040 ($33.57). 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
Pioneers Memorial Hospital Brawley, CAAlbumin/Globulin Ratio	$1.30	file

File Link to the hospital's own price file.