Lab tests CPT 88305 Inpatient — admitted to hospital

Biopsy pathology exam cost in Riverside, CA — inpatient

In Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA, 9 hospitals list a cash price for biopsy tissue exam by a pathologist (level IV) as an inpatient: from $43.20 to $250.50, with a median of $115.68. The lowest listed price is at Loma Linda University Medical Center - Murrieta — $72.48 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $197.60 at 96 hospitals.

Cash prices at 9 facilities across 7 cities for code 88305, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Apr 1, 2026 and Sep 2, 2026.

Lowest$43.20Loma Linda University Medical Center - Murrieta
Median$115.68half pay less
Highest$250.50in this market
Difference5.8×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 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA.

median
Lowest $43.20Highest $1,927.11

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash price List priceInsurers payOff listFile date
Loma Linda University Medical Center - Murrieta lowest Murrieta, CA · (951) 290-4000 HC LEVEL IV PG $43.20 $96.00 $17.38–$72.00 55% Sep 2, 2026
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Riverside University Medical Center Moreno Valley, CA · (951) 486-4000 HC Qu IV-Path G&M 1sp $60.25 $60.25 $8.20–$112.02 — —
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Riverside University Medical Center Moreno Valley, CA · (951) 486-4000 HC Qu IV-Path G&M 1sp $60.25 $60.25 $8.20–$112.02 — —
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Loma Linda University Medical Center Loma Linda, CA · (909) 558-4000 HC LEVEL IV PG $64.35 $143.00 $28.60–$128.70 55% Sep 2, 2026
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Loma Linda University Childrens Hospital Loma Linda, CA · (909) 558-8000 HC LEVEL IV PG $64.35 $143.00 $28.60–$121.55 55% Sep 2, 2026
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St Mary Medical Center Apple Valley, CA · (760) 242-2311 HC LEVEL IV SURG PATHOLOGY GROSS&MICROSCOPIC EXAM LAB $115.68 $241.00 — 52% Apr 1, 2026
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Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Moreno Valley Moreno Valley, CA · (951) 251-6530 LEVEL IV SURG PATHOLOGY GROSS&MICROSCOPIC EXAM $197.60 $380.00 $61.00–$180.00 48% —
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Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Fontana Fontana, CA · (909) 427-5000 LEVEL IV SURG PATHOLOGY GROSS&MICROSCOPIC EXAM $197.60 $380.00 $61.00–$180.00 48% —
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Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Riverside Riverside, CA · (951) 353-2000 LEVEL IV SURG PATHOLOGY GROSS&MICROSCOPIC EXAM $197.60 $380.00 $61.00–$180.00 48% —
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Palo Verde Hospital Blythe, CA · (760) 922-4115 Bill Only 88305 Surg Path Level IV $250.50 $334.00 — 25% Jul 1, 2026
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Loma Linda University Childrens Hospital Loma Linda, CA · (909) 558-8000 HC LEVEL IV-GROSS & MICRO EXAM $420.30 $934.00 $186.80–$793.90 55% Sep 2, 2026
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Loma Linda University Medical Center - Murrieta Murrieta, CA · (951) 290-4000 HC LEVEL IV-GROSS & MICRO EXAM $420.30 $934.00 $169.05–$700.50 55% Sep 2, 2026
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Loma Linda University Medical Center Loma Linda, CA · (909) 558-4000 HC LEVEL IV-GROSS & MICRO EXAM $420.30 $934.00 $186.80–$840.60 55% Sep 2, 2026
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Riverside University Medical Center Moreno Valley, CA · (951) 486-4000 HC Surg Path Level IV $1,751.92 $1,751.92 $8.20–$1,751.92 — —
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Riverside University Medical Center Moreno Valley, CA · (951) 486-4000 HC Surg Path Level IV $1,751.92 $1,751.92 $8.20–$1,751.92 — —
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Riverside University Medical Center Moreno Valley, CA · (951) 486-4000 HC Cell Block Any Source $1,927.11 $1,927.11 $8.20–$1,927.11 — —
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Riverside University Medical Center Moreno Valley, CA · (951) 486-4000 HC Cell Block Any Source $1,927.11 $1,927.11 $8.20–$1,927.11 — —
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Inpatient: lowest $43.20, median $115.68, highest $250.50 — a 5.8× difference within the same market.

As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 13 facilities here, median $66.00 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.

Cash or insurance?

At 4 of 7 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 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.

2 rows held back from this comparison

They are priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 88305 ($186.06). 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.

Riverside University Medical Center Moreno Valley, CAHC Qu Protein S Free Ppnl $13.39 file
Riverside University Medical Center Moreno Valley, CAHC Qu Protein S Free Ppnl $13.39 file