A1C test cost in San Jose, CA — inpatient
In San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, 4 hospitals list a cash price for hemoglobin A1C blood test (average blood sugar over about 3 months) as an inpatient: from $43.00 to $126.00, with a median of $79.52. The lowest listed price is at El Camino Hospital — $36.52 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $65.25 at 99 hospitals.
Cash prices at 4 facilities across 4 cities for code 83036, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Apr 1, 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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Camino Hospital lowest Mountain View, CA · (650) 940-7000 HC HEMOGLOBIN A1C | $43.00 | $172.00 | — | 75% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Jose San Jose, CA · (408) 972-7000 HEMOGLOBIN GLYCOSYLATED A1C | $79.52 | $142.00 | $10.00–$30.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Santa Clara Santa Clara, CA · (408) 236-6400 HEMOGLOBIN GLYCOSYLATED A1C | $79.52 | $142.00 | $10.00–$30.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Stanford Health Care Stanford, CA · (650) 723-4000 HC Glycolated Hemoglobin | $126.00 | $315.00 | — | 60% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Stanford Health Care Stanford, CA · (650) 723-4000 Hemoglobin A1c POC | $126.00 | $315.00 | — | 60% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
Inpatient: lowest $43.00, median $79.52, highest $126.00 — a 2.9× difference within the same market.
As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 5 facilities here, median $79.52 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.
Cash or insurance?
At 0 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
An A1C test measures how much sugar is attached to hemoglobin in red blood cells, which reflects average blood sugar over roughly the past three months. It is used to screen for and diagnose prediabetes and diabetes and to track how well diabetes is controlled.
What the price covers
The price usually covers running the A1C test only. The blood draw is often billed separately, unless the test is done from a fingerstick in the office.