Iron test cost in Memphis, TN
In Memphis, TN-MS-AR, 13 hospitals list a cash price for iron blood test (serum iron): from $4.56 to $61.90, with a median of $20.02. The lowest listed price is at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Tipton — $15.46 less than the median here. Across Tennessee, the median is $24.60 at 87 hospitals.
- The median here, $20.02, is 58% below the US median of $47.12.
- That is 3.1× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($6.47).
- Memphis, TN has the lowest median of 2 metro areas in Tennessee 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 83540, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Nov 11, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Feb 27, 2026 and Mar 25, 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 Memphis, TN-MS-AR.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baptist Memorial Hospital-Tipton lowest Covington, TN · (901) 476-2621 IRON INDEX TISSUE File of Feb 27, 2026 · source file | $4.56 | $19.00 | $4.94–$24.28 | 76% |
| Methodist Lebonheur Childrens Hosp Memphis, TN HC Assay of Iron - Iron File of Mar 19, 2026 · source file | $10.12 | $46.00 | — | 78% |
| Methodist Olive Branch Hospital Olive Branch, MS · (662) 932-9000 HC Assay of Iron - Iron File of Mar 19, 2026 · source file | $20.02 | $91.00 | $2.72–$49.60 | 78% |
| Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital Germantown, TN · (901) 516-8274 HC Assay of Iron - Iron File of Mar 19, 2026 · source file | $20.02 | $91.00 | $2.72–$49.60 | 78% |
| Methodist North Hospital Memphis, TN · (901) 516-8274 HC Assay of Iron - Iron File of Mar 19, 2026 · source file | $20.02 | $91.00 | $2.72–$49.60 | 78% |
| Methodist University Hospital Memphis, TN · (901) 516-8274 HC Assay of Iron - Iron File of Mar 19, 2026 · source file | $20.02 | $91.00 | $2.72–$49.60 | 78% |
| Methodist South Hospital Memphis, TN · (901) 516-8274 HC Assay of Iron - Iron File of Mar 19, 2026 · source file | $20.02 | $91.00 | $2.72–$49.60 | 78% |
| Baptist Memorial Hospital-Crittenden West Memphis, AR · (870) 394-7800 IRON INDEX TISSUE+1 more line at this price File of Feb 27, 2026 · source file | $23.85 | $159.00 | $6.15–$127.20 | 85% |
| Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto Southaven, MS · (662) 772-4000 IRON LEVEL SERUM File of Feb 27, 2026 · source file | $31.80 | $159.00 | $6.15–$143.10 | 80% |
| Baptist Memorial Hospital-Collierville Collierville, TN · (901) 226-5000 IRON INDEX TISSUE+1 more line at this price File of Feb 27, 2026 · source file | $33.39 | $159.00 | $6.15–$143.10 | 79% |
| Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis Memphis, TN · (901) 226-5000 IRON LEVEL SERUM+1 more line at this price File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $33.39 | $159.00 | $6.15–$143.10 | 79% |
| Baptist Memorial Hospital-Women's Memphis, TN IRON INDEX TISSUE+1 more line at this price File of Feb 27, 2026 · source file | $33.39 | $159.00 | $6.15–$143.10 | 79% |
| Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto Southaven, MS · (662) 772-4000 IRON URINE 24 HR File of Feb 27, 2026 · source file | $41.60 | $208.00 | $6.15–$187.20 | 80% |
| Baptist Memorial Hospital-Tipton Covington, TN · (901) 476-2621 IRON LEVEL SERUM+1 more line at this price File of Feb 27, 2026 · source file | $49.92 | $208.00 | $5.63–$187.20 | 76% |
| Regional One Health Memphis, TN · (901) 545-7928 1200930000 - IRON 83540+2 more lines at this price File of Mar 25, 2026 · source file | $61.90 | $96.26 | $5.18–$77.01 | 36% |
Outpatient: lowest $4.56, median $20.02, highest $61.90 — a 13.6× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 14 facilities here, median $21.94. 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 12 of 12 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at 1 it is 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 iron test is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Iron test explained.
1 row held back from this comparison
It is priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 83540 ($43.96). 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto Southaven, MSIRON INDEX TISSUE | $3.80 | file |