Cortisol test cost in San Jose, CA
In San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, 6 hospitals list a cash price for cortisol blood test, total: from $12.15 to $329.20, with a median of $196.83. The lowest listed price is at Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford — $184.68 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $98.80 at 190 hospitals.
Cash prices at 6 facilities across 6 cities for code 82533, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Mar 31, 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 Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford lowest Palo Alto, CA · (650) 497-8000 HC 095 Cortisol Total File of Mar 31, 2026 · source file | $12.15 | $24.31 | $11.81 | 50% |
| Good Samaritan Hospital Los Gatos, CA · (408) 559-2011 CORTISOL TOTAL File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $45.69 | $45.69 | $6.85–$45.69 | — |
| El Camino Hospital Mountain View, CA · (650) 940-7000 HC CORTISOL File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $91.25 | $365.00 | — | 75% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Jose San Jose, CA · (408) 972-7000 CORTISOL TOTAL File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $302.40 | $540.00 | $14.00–$45.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Santa Clara Santa Clara, CA · (408) 236-6400 CORTISOL TOTAL File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $302.40 | $540.00 | $14.00–$45.00 | 44% |
| Stanford Health Care Stanford, CA · (650) 723-4000 HC Cortisol Total+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $329.20 | $823.00 | — | 60% |
| Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford Palo Alto, CA · (650) 497-8000 HC Salcor Cortisol Total Saliva+1 more line at this price File of Mar 31, 2026 · source file | $411.50 | $823.00 | $399.90 | 50% |
Outpatient: lowest $12.15, median $196.83, highest $329.20 — a 27.1× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 4 facilities here, median $302.40. 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 0 of 4 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 cortisol test measures the main stress hormone made by the adrenal glands. It is used when adrenal insufficiency (Addison's disease) or excess cortisol (Cushing's syndrome) is suspected.
What the price covers
The price usually covers running the test. The blood draw (36415) is often billed as a separate line.
5 rows held back from this comparison
They are priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 82533 ($90.30). 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Stanford Health Care Stanford, CAHC 7031cortisol Total | $3.61 | file |
| Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford Palo Alto, CAHC 100 Total Cortisol Serum | $4.51 | file |
| Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford Palo Alto, CAHC 100 Acth Stim Cortisol 60 Min | $5.00 | file |
| Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford Palo Alto, CAHC 100 Acth Stim Cortisol 30 Min | $5.00 | file |
| Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford Palo Alto, CAHC 100 Acth Stim Cortisol 0 Min | $5.00 | file |