Lab tests CPT 83540 Inpatient — admitted to hospital

Iron test cost in Redding, CA — inpatient

In Redding, CA, 2 hospitals list a cash price for iron blood test (serum iron) as an inpatient: from $46.41 to $86.25, with a median of $66.33. The lowest listed price is at Dignity Health — $19.92 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $44.20 at 160 hospitals.

Cash prices at 2 facilities for code 83540, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Feb 28, 2026 and Feb 28, 2026.

Lowest$46.41Dignity Health
Median$66.33half pay less
Highest$86.25in this market
Difference1.9×highest vs lowest

Where each hospital's price falls

Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Redding, CA.

median
Lowest $46.41Highest $196.56

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash price List priceInsurers payOff listFile date
Dignity Health lowest Redding, CA RL-A-FE LIVER 28250 $46.41 $91.52 $82.37–$89.69 49% Feb 28, 2026
source file
Dignity Health Redding, CA SE-IRON $77.07 $152.00 $136.80–$148.96 49% Feb 28, 2026
source file
James D. Tate MD Redding, CA · (530) 225-8700 MMC IRON $86.25 $86.25 — — —
source file
James D. Tate MD Redding, CA · (530) 225-8700 MMC FEPR (IRON TIBC %SAT) $196.56 $196.56 — — —
source file

Inpatient: lowest $46.41, median $66.33, highest $86.25 — a 1.9× difference within the same market.

As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 3 facilities here, median $26.37 — 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 and 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 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.

2 rows held back from this comparison

They are priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 83540 ($53.30). 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.

Dignity Health Redding, CARL-A-FEIBC 20420A $2.37 file
Dignity Health Redding, CARL-SR-IRON $3.29 file