Urine microalbumin test cost in Merced, CA — inpatient
In Merced, CA, 2 hospitals list a cash price for urine microalbumin (albumin) test as an inpatient: from $7.45 to $107.00, with a median of $57.23. The lowest listed price is at Mercy Medical Center — $49.78 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $35.70 at 191 hospitals.
Cash prices at 2 facilities across 2 cities for code 82043, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Feb 28, 2026 and Apr 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 Merced, CA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercy Medical Center lowest Merced, CA · (209) 564-5000 MICROALBUMIN URINE RANDOM File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $7.45 | $14.45 | $8.67–$13.59 | 48% |
| Mercy Medical Center Merced, CA · (209) 564-5000 RL-C-ALBUMIN UR QUANT File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $7.72 | $14.98 | $8.99–$14.09 | 48% |
| Memorial Hospital Los Banos Los Banos, CA · (209) 826-0591 HCHG CORE MICROALBUMIN UR RAN+3 more lines at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $107.00 | $107.00 | — | — |
| Mercy Medical Center Merced, CA · (209) 564-5000 MICROALBUMIN UR QN File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $178.71 | $347.00 | $208.20–$326.18 | 48% |
Inpatient: lowest $7.45, median $57.23, highest $107.00 — a 14.4× difference within the same market.
As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 2 facilities here, median $57.23 — 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 and 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
A urine microalbumin test measures small amounts of albumin protein in the urine. It is the yearly kidney check for people with diabetes or high blood pressure.
What the price covers
The price usually covers running the test; collecting the sample may be billed separately.
3 rows held back from this comparison
They are priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 82043 ($47.40). 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Mercy Medical Center Merced, CAH-MICROALBUM TIMED UR7662 | $2.06 | file |
| Mercy Medical Center Merced, CARL-A-ALB/CRT 50203A | $2.32 | file |
| Mercy Medical Center Merced, CAH-MICROALBUMIN UR RDM7661 | $3.09 | file |