Lab tests CPT 83605 Outpatient

Lactic acid test cost in Mount Airy, NC

In Mount Airy, NC, 2 hospitals list a cash price for lactate (lactic acid) blood test: from $18.00 to $31.28, with a median of $24.64. The lowest listed price is at Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital — $6.64 less than the median here. Across North Carolina, the median is $87.36 at 67 hospitals.

Cash prices at 2 facilities across 2 cities for code 83605, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jul 16, 2026 and Jul 16, 2026.

Lowest$18.00Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital
Median$24.64half of hospitals charge less
Highest$31.28in this market
Difference1.7×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 Mount Airy, NC.

median
Lowest $18.00Highest $36.52

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash priceList priceInsurers payOff list
Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital lowest Elkin, NC · (336) 527-7000 HC ASSAY OF LACTIC ACID File of Jul 16, 2026 · source file $18.00 $36.00 $10.37–$33.12 50%
Northern Regional Hospital Mount Airy, NC · (336) 719-7000 Lactic Acid source file $31.28 $46.00 $11.34–$46.00 32%
Northern Regional Hospital Mount Airy, NC · (336) 719-7000 Lactic Acid, Body Fluid source file $36.52 $53.70 $11.34–$46.00 32%
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.

Outpatient: lowest $18.00, median $24.64, highest $31.28 — a 1.7× difference within the same market.

As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 2 facilities here, median $24.64. 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 2 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

A lactic acid test measures lactate in the blood. It is used mainly in the emergency department and hospital to look for sepsis, shock or poor blood flow to tissues.

What the price covers

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