Lab tests CPT 86704 Inpatient — admitted to hospital

Hepatitis B core antibody cost in Bakersfield, CA — inpatient

In Bakersfield-Delano, CA, 2 hospitals list a cash price for hepatitis B core antibody test (total) as an inpatient: from $51.38 to $51.94, with a median of $51.66. The lowest listed price is at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital — $0.28 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $37.73 at 176 hospitals.

Cash prices at 2 facilities for code 86704, 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$51.38Bakersfield Memorial Hospital
Median$51.66half of hospitals charge less
Highest$51.94in this market
Difference1.0×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 Bakersfield-Delano, CA.

median
Lowest $51.38Highest $51.94

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash priceList priceInsurers payOff list
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital lowest Bakersfield, CA · (661) 327-1792 HEPATITIS B CORE AB File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file $51.38 $140.00 $98.00–$110.60 63%
Mercy Hospital Bakersfield, CA · (661) 632-5000 HEPATITIS B CORE AB File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file $51.94 $140.00 $98.00–$112.00 63%
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 $51.38, median $51.66, highest $51.94.

As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 3 facilities here, median $31.91 — 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 2 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 hepatitis B core antibody test shows whether a person has ever been infected with hepatitis B. It is part of hepatitis B screening together with the surface antigen and surface antibody tests.

What the price covers

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

8 rows held back from this comparison

They are priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 86704 ($68.40). 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.

HospitalCash priceFile
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield, CARL-A-HBV EXP 3016631B $2.14 file
Mercy Hospital Bakersfield, CARL-A-HBV EXP 3016631B $2.17 file
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield, CARL-A-HBCAB 20091 $2.21 file
Mercy Hospital Bakersfield, CARL-A-HBCAB 20091 $2.23 file
Ridgecrest Regional Hospital Ridgecrest, CAHep b core antibody total $5.09 file
Ridgecrest Regional Hospital Ridgecrest, CAHep b core ab ttl (501) $5.09 file
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Bakersfield, CAH-HEPB CORE AB TOT 8222 $5.88 file
Mercy Hospital Bakersfield, CAH-HEPB CORE AB TOT 8222 $5.94 file
File Link to the hospital's own price file.