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?