LDH test cost in Santa Cruz, CA
In Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA, 3 hospitals list a cash price for lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) blood test: from $51.75 to $648.30, with a median of $157.00. The lowest listed price is at Dominican Hospital — $105.25 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $33.67 at 210 hospitals.
Cash prices at 3 facilities across 2 cities for code 83615, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Feb 28, 2026 and Sep 15, 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 Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dominican Hospital lowest Santa Cruz, CA · (831) 462-7700 LACTATE DEHYDRO (LDH) | $51.75 | $115.00 | $6.04–$115.00 | 55% | Feb 28, 2026 source file |
| Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center of Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA · (831) 477-2200 HCHG CORE LDH | $157.00 | $157.00 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center of Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA · (831) 477-2200 HCHG LACTATE (LD) (LDH) ENZYME | $157.00 | $157.00 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Watsonville Community Hospital Watsonville, CA · (831) 724-4741 LACTATE DEHYDROLDH | $648.30 | $1,080.50 | $6.04–$1,080.50 | 40% | Sep 15, 2026 source file |
| Watsonville Community Hospital Watsonville, CA · (831) 724-4741 LACTATE (LD) (LDH) ENZYME | $648.30 | $1,080.50 | $6.04–$1,080.50 | 40% | Sep 15, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $51.75, median $157.00, highest $648.30 — a 12.5× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 3 facilities here, median $157.00. 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
An LDH test measures an enzyme found in most body tissues. A high level is a general sign of tissue damage and is used to follow some anemias, lymphomas and other cancers.
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 83615 ($41.60). 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.
| Dominican Hospital Santa Cruz, CARL-A-LDH FL 20505 | $3.31 | file |
| Dominican Hospital Santa Cruz, CARL-A-LDISO 20413B | $4.05 | file |