Lab tests CPT 86696 Outpatient

Herpes (HSV-2) blood test cost in Merced, CA

In Merced, CA, 1 hospital lists a cash price for herpes blood test, HSV-2 antibody: from $24.00 to $24.00, with a median of $24.00. Across California, the median is $24.00 at 174 hospitals.

Cash prices at 1 facility for code 86696, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Apr 1, 2026 and Apr 1, 2026.

Lowest$24.00Memorial Hospital Los Banos
Median$24.00half pay less
Highest$24.00in this market
Difference1.0×highest vs lowest

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash price List priceInsurers payOff listFile date
Memorial Hospital Los Banos Los Banos, CA · (209) 826-0591 HCHG CORE HSV 2 AB IGG TYPE SPECIFIC $24.00 $24.00 — — Apr 1, 2026
source file

Outpatient: lowest $24.00, median $24.00, highest $24.00.

As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 1 facility here, median $24.00. Inpatient and outpatient prices are not comparable and are kept on separate pages: the inpatient charge covers admission, not the same purchase.

What it is

This blood test looks for antibodies to herpes simplex virus type 2, the usual cause of genital herpes.

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 86696 ($72.03). 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.

Mercy Medical Center Merced, CARL-Q-HERP SMPLX II AB IGG $4.64 file
Mercy Medical Center Merced, CARL-A-HERP II S 50294 $6.96 file