In Massachusetts, 33 hospitals
publish a cash price for lactate (lactic acid) blood test: from $17.92
to $535.00, with a median of
$71.00.
The lowest price is at Boston Medical Center South (Brockton).
The highest price is 29.9× the lowest.
Outpatient cash prices, one line per hospital — its lowest listed price
for code 83605. Prices for both sides of the body and inpatient prices are not
mixed in. Collected Sep 29, 2026.
See them on a map
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
File date When the hospital last updated its price file, as the file says itself. A dash means the file gives no date.
No cash discount This line's cash price equals the hospital's full list price. Many hospitals still reduce bills for uninsured patients: ask the billing office for its self-pay discount in writing. More
By metro area
Each metro page compares every listing, including prices for both sides of the body.
Market A metro area (as the Census Bureau defines it) or, outside metro areas, a town. Each links to every hospital price there.
Hospitals How many hospitals publish a cash price for this code here. Each hospital counts once, at its lowest outpatient cash price.
Lowest The lowest cash price among those hospitals.
Median The middle cash price: half of the hospitals charge less, half charge more. One price per hospital. More
What it is
A lactic acid test measures lactate in the blood. It is used mainly in the emergency department and hospital to look for sepsis, shock or poor blood flow to tissues.
What the price covers
The price usually covers running the test. The blood draw (36415) is often billed as a separate line.