Hemoglobin test cost in Santa Cruz, CA
In Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA, 3 hospitals list a cash price for hemoglobin blood test: from $11.70 to $176.79, with a median of $73.00. The lowest listed price is at Dominican Hospital — $61.30 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $40.32 at 193 hospitals.
Cash prices at 3 facilities across 2 cities for code 85018, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dominican Hospital lowest Santa Cruz, CA · (831) 462-7700 HEMOGLOBIN File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $11.70 | $26.00 | $2.37–$26.00 | 55% |
| Dominican Hospital Santa Cruz, CA · (831) 462-7700 HEMOGLOBIN NONL File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $34.65 | $77.00 | $2.37–$65.45 | 55% |
| Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center of Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA · (831) 477-2200 HCHG CORE HEMOGLOBIN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $73.00 | $73.00 | — | — |
| Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center of Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA · (831) 477-2200 HCHG HEMOGLOBIN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $75.00 | $75.00 | — | — |
| Watsonville Community Hospital Watsonville, CA · (831) 724-4741 HEMOGLOBIN File of Sep 15, 2026 · source file | $176.79 | $294.65 | $2.37–$297.65 | 40% |
Outpatient: lowest $11.70, median $73.00, highest $176.79 — a 15.1× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 3 facilities here, median $73.00. 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
A hemoglobin test measures the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells. It is used to check for anemia or bleeding and to follow treatment.
What the price covers
The price usually covers running the test. The blood draw (36415) is often billed as a separate line.
1 row held back from this comparison
It is priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 85018 ($24.60). 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.
| Hospital | Cash price | File |
|---|---|---|
| Watsonville Community Hospital Watsonville, CAQ35489 HEMOGLOBIN | $1.80 | file |