Total cholesterol test cost in Santa Cruz, CA
In Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA, 3 hospitals list a cash price for total cholesterol blood test: from $35.55 to $416.76, with a median of $119.00. The lowest listed price is at Dominican Hospital — $83.45 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $44.10 at 205 hospitals.
Cash prices at 3 facilities across 2 cities for code 82465, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Oct 2, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Feb 28, 2026 and Sep 28, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dominican Hospital lowest Santa Cruz, CA · (831) 462-7700 CHOLESTEROL TOTAL File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $35.55 | $79.00 | $4.35–$79.00 | 55% |
| Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center of Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA · (831) 477-2200 HCHG CORE CHOLESTEROL File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $119.00 | $119.00 | — | — |
| Watsonville Community Hospital Watsonville, CA · (831) 724-4741 CHOLESTEROL TOTAL+1 more line at this price File of Sep 28, 2026 · source file | $416.76 | $694.60 | $4.35–$694.60 | 40% |
Outpatient: lowest $35.55, median $119.00, highest $416.76 — a 11.7× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 3 facilities here, median $119.00. 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 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 it is
A total cholesterol test measures all the cholesterol in the blood. It is part of a lipid panel, which also gives HDL, LDL and triglycerides.
What the price covers
The price usually covers running the test. The blood draw (36415) is often billed as a separate line.