Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP): what it covers and what it costs
What does a Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP) cost? Across 39 major U.S. metros, the typical insurer-negotiated price for a CMP (CPT 80053) runs from about $10 in Indianapolis, IN to $487 in San Antonio, TX, read from hospitals' own price-transparency files. 22 of those metros have at least one hospital publishing a self-pay cash price. This page explains what the billing code covers, what the quoted price does and does not include, and what actually drives the spread between hospitals. These are price references from public data — not a quote, a bill, or medical or financial advice.
These figures are aggregated from hospitals' public price-transparency files — not a quote, a bill, an insurance benefit determination, or medical advice. Your actual out-of-pocket cost depends on your insurance plan (deductible, copay, coinsurance, network), the exact service and any complications, and which hospital you use. Always confirm price and coverage with the hospital and your insurer before care.
What a CMP price actually covers
A comprehensive metabolic panel is a fixed group of fourteen blood tests covering glucose, electrolytes, kidney function and liver enzymes. The panel is defined by its component tests, so its contents are the same wherever it is run.
Code scope. 80053 = comprehensive metabolic panel (14 analytes). The smaller basic metabolic panel (8 analytes) is 80048.
What is — and isn't — in the price
The price covers laboratory analysis of the panel. Specimen collection may be charged separately, and a hospital outpatient draw can carry a facility fee. Any test added outside the fourteen is billed as its own code.
Why CMP prices differ so much between hospitals
The basic metabolic panel — eight tests rather than fourteen — is a cheaper, separate code often confused with this one. Because panel contents are standardised, the price spread between hospitals reflects pricing policy rather than any difference in what is performed.
What else usually lands on the bill
The basic metabolic panel is the smaller, cheaper alternative. Magnesium, phosphorus and thyroid tests sit outside the panel and are billed individually even when drawn from the same sample.
What to ask before you book
Confirm whether the order is the comprehensive fourteen-test panel or the basic eight-test panel, and ask whether collection and facility charges are additional.
Where the money actually moves
Confirm the basic panel is not sufficient before paying for the comprehensive one, and ask whether the draw can go to an independent laboratory, where routine chemistry is usually much cheaper.
What the CMP numbers show nationally
A CMP costs 49.5× as much in San Antonio as in Indianapolis
Across the 39 metros priced here, the typical negotiated rate runs from $10 in Indianapolis, IN to $487 in San Antonio, TX — the same billing codes, the same procedure, 4854% apart.
The individual hospitals reporting the lowest and highest CMP prices
Lowest: PIEDMONT FAYETTE HOSPITAL (Atlanta, GA) at $0; ALLIANCE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM (Memphis, TN) at $1; BETHESDA HOSPITAL EAST (Miami, FL) at $5. Highest: HAZEL HAWKINS MEMORIAL HOSPITAL (San Jose, CA) at $756; MAGEE WOMENS HOSPITAL OF UPMC HEALTH SYSTEM (Pittsburgh, PA) at $693; TEMPLE UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL (Philadelphia, PA) at $682. These are the figures each hospital published in its own file, not an assessment of the care.
22 of 39 metros have a hospital publishing a self-pay CMP price
Cheapest published cash price: $23 (St. Louis). A cash price is what the hospital will accept from someone paying directly; it is not required and many never publish one.
Insurers pay about 92% below the list price for a CMP
Across the 33 metros publishing both, the chargemaster list price is typically 92% above what insurers negotiate. The widest gap is in Nashville: $1,142 list against $15 negotiated.
How many hospitals actually publish a CMP price
249 hospital price-file entries across 39 metros feed this page. A hospital appears only where its own file lists a rate for CPT 80053 — where it does not, it is absent from the table rather than filled in with a guess.
CMP price by metro
The typical insurer-negotiated price for a CMP, by metro — lowest first. 22 of these 39 metros have at least one hospital publishing a self-pay cash price; 34 publish a chargemaster list price. Open a metro for its full hospital-by-hospital breakdown and who those hospitals are.
| Metro | Typical negotiated | Range | Cash | Hospitals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis, IN | $10 | $9–$10 | $123 | 4 |
| Sacramento, CA | $10 | $10–$100 | $255 | 4 |
| San Francisco, CA | $10 | $10–$13 | $255 | 7 |
| Orlando, FL | $11 | $11–$14 | — | 3 |
| Tampa, FL | $11 | $11–$12 | — | 6 |
| Riverside, CA | $12 | $8–$664 | $257 | 6 |
| Detroit, MI | $12 | $11–$26 | $25 | 6 |
| Birmingham, AL | $13 | $11–$195 | — | 10 |
| Virginia Beach, VA | $14 | $11–$18 | — | 6 |
| Nashville, TN | $15 | $11–$42 | — | 9 |
| New York, NY | $15 | $11–$40 | $26 | 7 |
| Raleigh, NC | $15 | $15–$194 | $66 | 3 |
| Portland, OR | $16 | $11–$30 | — | 8 |
| Buffalo, NY | $16 | $11–$16 | — | 3 |
| Oklahoma City, OK | $16 | $13–$33 | — | 3 |
| Seattle, WA | $17 | $14–$128 | — | 8 |
| St. Louis, MO | $17 | $8–$174 | $23 | 7 |
| Cleveland, OH | $17 | $11–$73 | $47 | 8 |
| Hartford, CT | $19 | $11–$22 | — | 4 |
| Atlanta, GA | $19 | $0–$367 | $147 | 9 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $21 | $8–$92 | $269 | 5 |
| Philadelphia, PA | $23 | $11–$682 | $708 | 15 |
| Kansas City, MO | $24 | $18–$302 | — | 7 |
| Memphis, TN | $26 | $1–$194 | — | 4 |
| Jacksonville, FL | $26 | $26 | $122 | 3 |
| Phoenix, AZ | $27 | $11–$416 | $122 | 10 |
| Denver, CO | $27 | $15–$348 | $143 | 10 |
| Washington, DC | $34 | $11–$649 | $195 | 8 |
| Milwaukee, WI | $36 | $24–$172 | $135 | 9 |
| Baltimore, MD | $45 | $33–$50 | — | 4 |
| San Jose, CA | $46 | $10–$756 | — | 3 |
| Houston, TX | $47 | $45–$347 | — | 6 |
| Dallas, TX | $63 | $11–$355 | $218 | 10 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $67 | $12–$693 | $289 | 5 |
| Miami, FL | $97 | $5–$337 | — | 4 |
| Chicago, IL | $159 | $155–$175 | $108 | 3 |
| Austin, TX | $182 | $11–$345 | $95 | 9 |
| San Diego, CA | $222 | $11–$339 | $339 | 6 |
| San Antonio, TX | $487 | $11–$546 | — | 3 |
Source: hospitals' own machine-readable Standard Charges files, published under the U.S. Hospital Price Transparency rule (45 CFR §180.50). Most recent hospital file in this dataset: July 2026. Prices are references, not quotes or bills, and never medical or financial advice — where a hospital reports no price, nothing is shown rather than a guess.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a CMP cost?
- Across 39 U.S. metros the typical insurer-negotiated price is about $19, ranging from $10 in Indianapolis to $487 in San Antonio. Every figure is read from a named hospital's own price-transparency file for CPT 80053.
- Does the price include the doctor's fee?
- The price covers laboratory analysis of the panel. Specimen collection may be charged separately, and a hospital outpatient draw can carry a facility fee. Any test added outside the fourteen is billed as its own code.
- Why do CMP prices differ so much between hospitals?
- The basic metabolic panel — eight tests rather than fourteen — is a cheaper, separate code often confused with this one. Because panel contents are standardised, the price spread between hospitals reflects pricing policy rather than any difference in what is performed.