Lab tests CPT 84132 Inpatient — admitted to hospital

Potassium test cost in El Paso, TX — inpatient

In El Paso, TX, 3 hospitals list a cash price for potassium blood test as an inpatient: from $3.76 to $4.40, with a median of $3.76. The lowest listed price is at University Medical Center Surgical Hospital and 1 other hospital. Across Texas, the median is $59.87 at 280 hospitals.

Cash prices at 3 facilities across 2 cities for code 84132, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jan 27, 2026 and Mar 16, 2026.

Lowest$3.76University Medical Center Surgical Hospital + 1 more

Median$3.76half of hospitals charge less

Highest$4.40in this market

Difference1.2×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 El Paso, TX.

median

Lowest $3.76Highest $10.20

Hospitals, cheapest first

Hospital	Cash price	List price	Insurers pay	Off list
University Medical Center Surgical Hospital lowest Dieter El Paso, TX CLIN CHEM POTASSIUM SERUM/PLASMA+6 more lines at this price File of Mar 16, 2026 · source file	$3.76	$18.82	$1.71–$1,222.82	80%
University Medical Center El Paso lowest El Paso, TX · (915) 521-7602 CLIN CHEM POTASSIUM SERUM/PLASMA+6 more lines at this price File of Mar 16, 2026 · source file	$3.76	$18.82	$1.71–$1,222.82	80%
University Medical Center Surgical Hospital Dieter El Paso, TX ARTERIAL POTASSIUM File of Mar 16, 2026 · source file	$4.16	$20.79	$1.71–$44.87	80%
University Medical Center El Paso El Paso, TX · (915) 521-7602 ARTERIAL POTASSIUM File of Mar 16, 2026 · source file	$4.16	$20.79	$1.71–$44.87	80%
El Paso Children's Hospital El Paso, TX · (915) 521-7148 ED-POTASSIUM SERUM+3 more lines at this price File of Jan 27, 2026 · source file	$4.40	$22.00	$4.64–$17.60	80%
University Medical Center El Paso El Paso, TX · (915) 521-7602 LEE POTASSIUM+1 more line at this price File of Mar 16, 2026 · source file	$8.48	$42.42	$1.71–$1,222.82	80%
University Medical Center Surgical Hospital Dieter El Paso, TX LEN POTASSIUM+2 more lines at this price File of Mar 16, 2026 · source file	$8.48	$42.42	$1.71–$1,222.82	80%
El Paso Children's Hospital El Paso, TX · (915) 521-7148 RESP POTASSIUM File of Jan 27, 2026 · source file	$10.20	$51.00	$4.64–$40.80	80%

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 $3.76, median $3.76, highest $4.40 — a 1.2× difference within the same market.

As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 5 facilities here, median $4.40 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.

Cash or insurance?

At 3 of 3 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at 1 it is 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 potassium test measures the level of potassium in the blood. Doctors check it for people on diuretics or blood pressure drugs, with kidney disease, an irregular heartbeat, or vomiting and diarrhea.

What the price covers

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

6 rows held back from this comparison

They are priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 84132 ($36.10). 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.

Hospital	Cash price	File
University Medical Center Surgical Hospital Dieter El Paso, TXSH CLIN CHEM POTASSIUM SERUM/PLASMA	$2.88	file
University Medical Center Surgical Hospital Dieter El Paso, TXSH CLIN_CHEM POTASSIUM SERUM/PLASMA	$2.88	file
University Medical Center Surgical Hospital Dieter El Paso, TXSH SPEC_CHEM POTASSIUM SERUM/PLASMA	$2.88	file
University Medical Center Surgical Hospital Dieter El Paso, TXSH ARTERIAL POTASSIUM	$3.17	file
University Medical Center Surgical Hospital Dieter El Paso, TXNE NE POTASSIUM SERUM/PLASMA	$3.59	file
University Medical Center El Paso El Paso, TXNE NE POTASSIUM SERUM/PLASMA	$3.59	file

File Link to the hospital's own price file.