Lab tests CPT 83550 Inpatient — admitted to hospital

TIBC test cost in Buffalo, NY — inpatient

In Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY, 2 hospitals list a cash price for iron-binding capacity (TIBC) test as an inpatient: from $37.26 to $107.69, with a median of $72.48. The lowest listed price is at Erie County Medical Center Corporation — $35.22 less than the median here. Across New York, the median is $37.95 at 61 hospitals.

Cash prices at 2 facilities for code 83550, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 22, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Apr 1, 2026 and Aug 25, 2026.

Lowest$37.26Erie County Medical Center Corporation
Median$72.48half pay less
Highest$107.69in this market
Difference2.9×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 Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY.

median
Lowest $37.26Highest $107.69

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash price List priceInsurers payOff listFile date
Erie County Medical Center Corporation lowest Buffalo, NY TOTAL IRON BINDING CAPACITY $37.26 $93.26 $5.08–$83.93 60% Aug 25, 2026
source file
Erie County Medical Center Corporation lowest Buffalo, NY UNSATURATED IRON BINDING $37.26 $93.26 $5.08–$83.93 60% Aug 25, 2026
source file
Roswell Park Cancer Institute Buffalo, NY Iron Binding Capacity $107.69 $107.69 — — Apr 1, 2026
source file

Inpatient: lowest $37.26, median $72.48, highest $107.69 — a 2.9× difference within the same market.

As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 3 facilities here, median $37.26 — 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

The total iron-binding capacity test measures how much iron the blood can carry. It is ordered with serum iron (83540) to check for iron deficiency or overload.

What the price covers

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

3 rows held back from this comparison

They are priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 83550 ($52.03). 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.

Mount St. Mary's Hospital Lewiston, NYHC Iron Binding Test - Iron + Transferrin + Tibc $5.03 file
Sisters of Charity Hospital Buffalo, NYHC Iron Binding Test - Iron + Transferrin + Tibc $5.03 file
Mercy Hospital of Buffalo Buffalo, NYHC Iron Binding Test - Iron + Transferrin + Tibc $5.03 file