Lab tests CPT 88305 Inpatient — admitted to hospital

Biopsy pathology exam cost in Baltimore, MD — inpatient

In Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD, 2 hospitals list a cash price for biopsy tissue exam by a pathologist (level IV) as an inpatient: from $102.25 to $192.17, with a median of $147.21. The lowest listed price is at Greater Baltimore Medical Center — $44.96 less than the median here. Across Maryland, the median is $102.25 at 5 hospitals.

Cash prices at 2 facilities across 2 cities for code 88305, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 22, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between — and —.

Lowest$102.25Greater Baltimore Medical Center
Median$147.21half pay less
Highest$192.17in this market
Difference1.9×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 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD.

median
Lowest $102.25Highest $192.17

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash price List priceInsurers payOff listFile date
Greater Baltimore Medical Center lowest Towson, MD · (443) 849-2000 HC Surg Path-IV, Technical $102.25 $104.34 $102.25–$104.34 2% —
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Greater Baltimore Medical Center Towson, MD · (443) 849-2000 HC Surg Path, Level IV Gross & Micro $114.44 $116.78 $114.44–$116.78 2% —
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Greater Baltimore Medical Center Towson, MD · (443) 849-2000 HC Surg Path IV, Grs,Mic (Jhh) $127.36 $129.96 $127.36–$129.96 2% —
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Mercy Medical Center Baltimore, MD · (410) 332-9237 HC SURG PATH,LEVEL IV $192.17 $196.09 $196.09–$192.17 2% —
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Inpatient: lowest $102.25, median $147.21, highest $192.17 — a 1.9× difference within the same market.

As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 2 facilities here, median $147.21 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.

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

This code covers the lab exam of a tissue sample under a microscope. Most biopsies use it, including skin, colon polyp, stomach, breast core and prostate core biopsies.

What the price covers

The price is usually for one specimen. Each separate specimen is billed again, and the pathologist's reading may be billed separately.