Potassium test cost in Helena, MT
In Helena, MT, 2 hospitals list a cash price for potassium blood test: from $5.48 to $27.00, with a median of $16.24. The lowest listed price is at St. Peter's Health — $10.76 less than the median here. Across Montana, the median is $40.80 at 21 hospitals.
Cash prices at 2 facilities across 2 cities for code 84132, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Dec 11, 2025 and Dec 11, 2025.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Helena, MT.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Peter's Health lowest Helena, MT · (406) 442-2480 LABORATORY - CHEMISTRY source file | $5.48 | $6.45 | $6.45 | 15% |
| Billings Clinic Broadwater Townsend, MT · (406) 266-3186 Blood potassium level File of Dec 11, 2025 · source file | $27.00 | $27.00 | $18.90–$27.00 | — |
| St. Peter's Health Helena, MT · (406) 442-2480 HC POTASSIUM; SERUM source file | $80.08 | $94.21 | $4.76 | 15% |
| St. Peter's Health Helena, MT · (406) 442-2480 HC POTASSIUM; SERUM - POC source file | $85.68 | $100.80 | $4.76 | 15% |
Outpatient: lowest $5.48, median $16.24, highest $27.00 — a 4.9× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 1 facility here, median $80.08. 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 1 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 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.