Skip to main content
PricedCare

Lipid panel (cholesterol test) in San Diego, CA costs $2 to $13. Here's every hospital's price.

5 hospitals in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area publish a cash price for lipid panel (cholesterol test) (CPT 80061). We read their files every month so you don't have to.

Across the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area, 5 hospitals list a cash price for lipid panel (cholesterol test) (CPT 80061). The lowest is $2 at Tri-City Medical Center, the median is $11 and the highest is $13 at Paradise Valley Hospital. The most expensive hospital lists 5.2 times the cheapest for the same code.

The San Diego, CA median of $11 is 78% below the national median of $48 across 568 US hospitals with a cash price for this code.

5 of these hospitals also publish the rates they negotiated with insurers, from $1 to $6,546. With insurance you pay a share of the negotiated rate, which is sometimes higher than the cash price; you may ask for the cash price instead.

The files behind these prices are dated between April 2026 and September 2026. 11 other hospitals in the metro area have no readable price for this code: some publish no file, some block automated reading, some leave the code out. They are listed below so you can call them.

$2
lowest cash price in San Diego, CA
Tri-City Medical Center · 32 mi
$8 below the median
$11
median cash price
5 hospitals
5.2×
highest ÷ lowest
same procedure, same metro
5/16
hospitals with a cash price
11 don't · see who

Sorted by cash price

Hospital facility fee only
1
Tri-City Medical Center

Oceanside · 32 mi · File May 2026

$2
list $4 · lowest of 6 lines
2
Grossmont Hospital

La Mesa · 22 mi · File Apr 2026

$11
list $14 · lowest of 8 lines
3
Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center

Chula Vista · 31 mi · File Apr 2026

$11
list $14 · lowest of 4 lines
4
Sharp Coronado Hospital and Hlthcr Ctr

Coronado · 32 mi · File Apr 2026

$11
list $14 · lowest of 4 lines
5
Paradise Valley Hospital

National City · 29 mi · File Sep 2026

$13
list $17 · lowest of 3 lines
1

What's in the price

The hospital facility fee for CPT 80061. The doctor, anesthesia and lab work usually bill separately.

2

Cash vs. insured

Cash is what you pay without insurance. With insurance you pay a share of the negotiated rate, which can be higher than cash. You may ask for the cash price.

3

What to say on the phone

"I'd like the self-pay price for CPT 80061, in writing, and whether it covers facility, physician and anesthesia."

About lipid panel (cholesterol test)

CPT 80061 is a lipid panel: total cholesterol, HDL, LDL and triglycerides from one blood sample, usually after fasting. It is used to assess heart-disease risk and to monitor cholesterol treatment, and it is part of most annual physicals.

What the price covers

The laboratory analysis only. The blood draw is a separate small charge. If ordered at a routine preventive visit, insured patients usually pay nothing under preventive-care rules; the cash price is for everyone else.

Why prices vary

A lipid panel costs a laboratory a few dollars to run. Hospital list prices range from under $20 to several hundred, and the spread between hospitals in the same city is often twenty times or more. Independent labs and pharmacy-based testing are typically far cheaper than hospital laboratories.

Questions to ask

  • What is the self-pay price for 80061 plus the blood draw?
  • Do I need to fast?
  • Can this be run at an independent laboratory instead?

Hospitals in San Diego, CA without a price for this procedure

Listed so you know who to call. The reason is what we found on their website.

Questions people ask