Lab tests CPT 83540 Inpatient — admitted to hospital

Iron test cost in El Centro, CA — inpatient

In El Centro, CA, 1 hospital lists a cash price for iron blood test (serum iron) as an inpatient: from $28.12 to $28.12, with a median of $28.12. Across California, the median is $58.50 at 197 hospitals.

Cash prices at 1 facility for code 83540, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Feb 1, 2026 and Feb 1, 2026.

Lowest$28.12Pioneers Memorial Hospital

Median$28.12half of hospitals charge less

Highest$28.12in this market

Difference1.0×highest vs lowest

Hospitals, cheapest first

Hospital	Cash price	List price	Insurers pay	Off list
Pioneers Memorial Hospital Brawley, CA · (760) 351-3333 Iron Level File of Feb 1, 2026 · source file	$28.12	$80.33	$4.58–$50.86	65%

Hospital The hospital that published the price, its city and the line exactly as written in its price file.

Cash price The hospital's own price for a patient paying without insurance (“discounted cash” in its price file). Hospitals must publish it under federal law, 45 CFR 180.50. Call to confirm it before booking. More

List price The hospital's full chargemaster price (“gross charge”) before any discount. Almost nobody pays it; the gap to the cash price shows what the self-pay discount is worth. More

Insurers pay The lowest and highest rates this hospital has agreed with insurance plans for the same item, from its price file. If the cash price is below what your plan pays and you have not met your deductible, paying cash can cost you less. More

Off list How much lower the cash price is than the list price.

Inpatient: lowest $28.12, median $28.12, highest $28.12.

As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 1 facility here, median $28.12 — 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. 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 serum iron test measures the iron carried in the blood. It is usually ordered with iron-binding capacity and ferritin to check for iron deficiency or iron overload.

What the price covers

The price usually covers running the test. The blood draw (36415) is often billed as a separate line.

1 row held back from this comparison

It is priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 83540 ($52.20). 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
Pioneers Memorial Hospital Brawley, CAIron, Total QST	$4.50	file

File Link to the hospital's own price file.