Biopsy pathology exam cost in San Jose, CA — inpatient
In San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, 4 hospitals list a cash price for biopsy tissue exam by a pathologist (level IV) as an inpatient: from $44.89 to $775.20, with a median of $229.60. The lowest listed price is at El Camino Hospital — $184.71 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $197.60 at 96 hospitals.
Cash prices at 4 facilities across 4 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 Apr 1, 2026.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Camino Hospital lowest Mountain View, CA · (650) 940-7000 HC 31150065 PATH EXM-COMPL-LV4 *5 | $44.89 | $179.55 | — | 75% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Santa Clara Santa Clara, CA · (408) 236-6400 LEVEL IV SURG PATHOLOGY GROSS&MICROSCOPIC EXAM | $229.60 | $410.00 | $57.00–$180.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Jose San Jose, CA · (408) 972-7000 LEVEL IV SURG PATHOLOGY GROSS&MICROSCOPIC EXAM | $229.60 | $410.00 | $57.00–$180.00 | 44% | — source file |
| El Camino Hospital Mountain View, CA · (650) 940-7000 HC RC 314 BIOPSY-LEVEL IV - SURGICAL PATHOLOGY, GROSS AND MICROSCOPIC EXAMINATION | $272.50 | $1,090.00 | — | 75% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| El Camino Hospital Mountain View, CA · (650) 940-7000 HC RC 312 HISTOLOGY-LEVEL IV - SURGICAL PATHOLOGY, GROSS AND MICROSCOPIC EXAMINATION | $272.50 | $1,090.00 | — | 75% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| El Camino Hospital Mountain View, CA · (650) 940-7000 HC G&M PROSTATE BIOPSY 10-20 SPECIME | $272.50 | $1,090.00 | — | 75% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Stanford Health Care Stanford, CA · (650) 723-4000 Path Exm-Compl-Lv4 | $775.20 | $1,938.00 | — | 60% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
Inpatient: lowest $44.89, median $229.60, highest $775.20 — a 17.3× difference within the same market.
As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 5 facilities here, median $229.60 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.
Cash or insurance?
At 0 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 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.