Lab tests CPT 86696 Inpatient — admitted to hospital

Herpes (HSV-2) blood test cost in Oxnard, CA — inpatient

In Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA, 2 hospitals list a cash price for herpes blood test, HSV-2 antibody as an inpatient: from $9.18 to $9.69, with a median of $9.44. The lowest listed price is at Dignity Health — $0.26 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $26.68 at 134 hospitals.

Cash prices at 2 facilities across 2 cities for code 86696, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Feb 28, 2026 and Feb 28, 2026.

Lowest$9.18Dignity Health
Median$9.44half pay less
Highest$9.69in this market
Difference1.1×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 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA.

median
Lowest $9.18Highest $62.05

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash price List priceInsurers payOff listFile date
Dignity Health lowest Camarillo, CA RL-A-HERPIICSF 50359 $9.18 $22.11 $5.97–$17.69 58% Feb 28, 2026
source file
Dignity Health Oxnard, CA · (805) 988-2500 RL-A-HERPIICSF 50359 $9.69 $22.11 $5.97–$17.25 56% Feb 28, 2026
source file
Dignity Health Camarillo, CA 2295M RL-A-HSV ABS WB 3016847B $58.79 $141.65 $38.25–$113.32 58% Feb 28, 2026
source file
Dignity Health Oxnard, CA · (805) 988-2500 2295M RL-A-HSV ABS WB 3016847B $62.05 $141.65 $38.25–$110.49 56% Feb 28, 2026
source file

Inpatient: lowest $9.18, median $9.44, highest $9.69 — a 1.1× difference within the same market.

As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 3 facilities here, median $9.69 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.

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

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.

Dignity Health Camarillo, CARL-A-HERP II S 50294 $5.61 file
Dignity Health Oxnard, CARL-A-HERP II S 50294 $5.92 file