1-hour glucose test cost in San Diego, CA
In San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA, 13 hospitals list a cash price for glucose challenge test (1-hour glucose after a sugar drink): from $4.53 to $103.71, with a median of $26.14. The lowest listed price is at Scripps Green Hospital and 4 other hospitals — $21.61 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $52.00 at 181 hospitals.
- The median here, $26.14, is 38% below the US median of $42.35.
- That is 5.5× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($4.75).
- San Diego, CA has the lowest median of 5 metro areas in California with at least 10 hospitals pricing this code.
- Every hospital here lists a cash price below its full list price.
Cash prices at 13 facilities across 7 cities for code 82950, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Mar 30, 2026 and May 29, 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 Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scripps Green Hospital lowest La Jolla, CA · (858) 554-3600 HC Glucose Post Dose File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $4.53 | $18.14 | $1.45–$14.51 | 75% |
| Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas lowest Encinitas, CA · (760) 753-6501 HC Glucose Post Dose File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $4.53 | $18.14 | $1.45–$14.51 | 75% |
| Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego lowest San Diego, CA · (619) 294-8111 HC Glucose Post Dose File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $4.53 | $18.14 | $1.45–$14.51 | 75% |
| Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista lowest San Diego, CA · (619) 294-8111 HC Glucose Post Dose File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $4.53 | $18.14 | $1.45–$14.51 | 75% |
| Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla lowest La Jolla, CA · (858) 626-4123 HC Glucose Post Dose File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $4.53 | $18.14 | $1.45–$14.51 | 75% |
| Scripps Green Hospital La Jolla, CA · (858) 554-3600 HC Glucose 1hr 50g/Post Dose File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $5.67 | $22.68 | $1.81–$18.14 | 75% |
| Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego San Diego, CA · (619) 294-8111 HC Glucose 1hr 50g/Post Dose File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $5.67 | $22.68 | $1.81–$18.14 | 75% |
| Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas Encinitas, CA · (760) 753-6501 HC Glucose 1hr 50g/Post Dose File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $5.67 | $22.68 | $1.81–$18.14 | 75% |
| Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla La Jolla, CA · (858) 626-4123 HC Glucose 1hr 50g/Post Dose File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $5.67 | $22.68 | $1.81–$18.14 | 75% |
| Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista San Diego, CA · (619) 294-8111 HC Glucose 1hr 50g/Post Dose File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $5.67 | $22.68 | $1.81–$18.14 | 75% |
| Palomar Medical Center Poway Poway, CA · (858) 485-6511 Glucose Tolerance Gestational Scree File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $26.14 | $43.57 | — | 40% |
| Palomar Medical Center Escondido Escondido, CA Glucose Tolerance Gestational Scree File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $26.14 | $43.57 | — | 40% |
| UC San Diego Medical Center San Diego, CA · (619) 543-6222 Blood Glucose (Sugar) Level After Receiving Dose Of Glucose File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $42.90 | $78.00 | $4.75–$105.30 | 45% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Marcos San Marcos, CA · (760) 528-6295 GLUCOSE POST GLUCOSE DOSE File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $52.00 | $100.00 | $3.00–$10.00 | 48% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Diego - Zion San Diego, CA · (619) 528-5000 GLUCOSE POST GLUCOSE DOSE File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $52.00 | $100.00 | $3.00–$10.00 | 48% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Diego - Clairemont Mesa San Diego, CA · (619) 528-5000 GLUCOSE POST GLUCOSE DOSE File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $52.00 | $100.00 | $3.00–$10.00 | 48% |
| Rady Children's Hospital - San Diego San Diego, CA · (858) 576-1700 Rch Lab-Glucose Qt, Post Glu File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $81.75 | $109.00 | — | 25% |
| Tri-City Medical Center Oceanside, CA · (760) 724-8411 Glucose 2 Hour Post Prandial File of May 29, 2026 · source file | $103.71 | $172.85 | $4.16–$136.38 | 40% |
| Tri-City Medical Center Oceanside, CA · (760) 724-8411 Gestational Diabetes Screen (Glucose) File of May 29, 2026 · source file | $106.81 | $178.02 | $4.16–$140.46 | 40% |
Outpatient: lowest $4.53, median $26.14, highest $103.71 — a 22.9× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 13 facilities here, median $26.14. 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 7 of 10 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 1-hour glucose test is, what the price covers and why prices differ: 1-hour glucose test explained.
10 rows held back from this comparison
They are priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 82950 ($45.00). 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista San Diego, CAHC Glucosewhole Blood | $4.16 | file |
| Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista San Diego, CAHC Glucose Whole Blood/1hr | $4.16 | file |
| Scripps Green Hospital La Jolla, CAHC Glucosewhole Blood | $4.16 | file |
| Scripps Green Hospital La Jolla, CAHC Glucose Whole Blood/1hr | $4.16 | file |
| Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla La Jolla, CAHC Glucose Whole Blood/1hr | $4.16 | file |
| Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla La Jolla, CAHC Glucosewhole Blood | $4.16 | file |
| Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego San Diego, CAHC Glucose Whole Blood/1hr | $4.16 | file |
| Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego San Diego, CAHC Glucosewhole Blood | $4.16 | file |
| Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas Encinitas, CAHC Glucose Whole Blood/1hr | $4.16 | file |
| Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas Encinitas, CAHC Glucosewhole Blood | $4.16 | file |