Lab tests CPT 83605 Inpatient — admitted to hospital

Lactic acid test cost in San Luis Obispo, CA — inpatient

In San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA, 1 hospital lists a cash price for lactate (lactic acid) blood test as an inpatient: from $37.24 to $37.24, with a median of $37.24. Across California, the median is $141.75 at 209 hospitals.

Cash prices at 1 facility for code 83605, 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$37.24French Hospital Medical Center
Median$37.24half of hospitals charge less
Highest$37.24in this market
Difference1.0×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 San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA.

median
Lowest $37.24Highest $121.92

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash priceList priceInsurers payOff list
French Hospital Medical Center lowest San Luis Obispo, CA · (805) 543-5353 LACTATE LACTIC ACID LAB File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file $37.24 $95.00 $25.65–$93.10 61%
French Hospital Medical Center San Luis Obispo, CA · (805) 543-5353 LACTATE LACTIC ACID BLOOD File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file $46.26 $118.00 $31.86–$115.64 61%
French Hospital Medical Center San Luis Obispo, CA · (805) 543-5353 LACTATE/LACTIC ACID NONL File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file $103.49 $264.00 $71.28–$258.72 61%
French Hospital Medical Center San Luis Obispo, CA · (805) 543-5353 LACTATE LACTIC ACID File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file $112.51 $287.00 $77.49–$281.26 61%
French Hospital Medical Center San Luis Obispo, CA · (805) 543-5353 RL-A-MAYO DLAC PLASMA File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file $121.92 $311.00 $83.97–$304.78 61%
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 $37.24, median $37.24, highest $37.24.

As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 1 facility here, median $18.04 — 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 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.

2 rows held back from this comparison

They are priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 83605 ($81.60). 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.

HospitalCash priceFile
French Hospital Medical Center San Luis Obispo, CARL-A-LBCORP FL 20504 $3.12 file
French Hospital Medical Center San Luis Obispo, CARL-A-LP RATIO 2007935B $7.37 file
File Link to the hospital's own price file.