Lipid Panel (Cholesterol Test): what it covers and what it costs
What does a Lipid Panel (Cholesterol Test) cost? Across 39 major U.S. metros, the typical insurer-negotiated price for a Lipid Panel (CPT 80061) runs from about $12 in Indianapolis, IN to $195 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 Lipid Panel price actually covers
A lipid panel measures total cholesterol, HDL, LDL and triglycerides. It is a defined panel code, and most laboratories calculate rather than directly measure LDL unless a direct measurement is specifically ordered.
Code scope. 80061 = lipid panel (total cholesterol 82465, HDL 83718, triglycerides 84478; LDL calculated). Individual components are sometimes billed separately.
What is — and isn't — in the price
The published figure covers the panel analysis. Collection charges and, in hospital outpatient settings, facility fees can be additional. A directly measured LDL is a separate code from the panel.
Why Lipid Panel prices differ so much between hospitals
Prices for this panel differ across hospitals far more than the standardised test content justifies. As a preventive screening test it is frequently covered without cost-sharing under federal rules when ordered for screening rather than to monitor a diagnosed condition — a coding distinction, not a clinical one.
What else usually lands on the bill
Direct LDL measurement, lipoprotein(a) and apolipoprotein B are separate codes ordered when the standard panel is not enough. A haemoglobin A1c is frequently drawn at the same visit and billed separately.
What to ask before you book
Ask whether the panel is being ordered as screening or as monitoring, since that affects coverage more than price, and whether a direct LDL measurement is included or extra.
Where the money actually moves
Ordered as preventive screening, this is covered without cost-sharing by most plans under federal rules. Where paying cash, independent and direct-to-consumer laboratories price well below hospital laboratories.
What the Lipid Panel numbers show nationally
A Lipid Panel costs 15.6× as much in San Antonio as in Indianapolis
Across the 39 metros priced here, the typical negotiated rate runs from $12 in Indianapolis, IN to $195 in San Antonio, TX — the same billing codes, the same procedure, 1463% apart.
The individual hospitals reporting the lowest and highest Lipid Panel prices
Lowest: ALLIANCE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM (Memphis, TN) at $1; BETHESDA HOSPITAL EAST (Miami, FL) at $5; KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL - LOS ANGELES (Los Angeles, CA) at $10. Highest: HAZEL HAWKINS MEMORIAL HOSPITAL (San Jose, CA) at $852; ST DAVID'S SOUTH AUSTIN MEDICAL CENTER (Austin, TX) at $431; ST DAVID'S MEDICAL CENTER (Austin, TX) at $431. 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 Lipid Panel price
Cheapest published cash price: $22 (Detroit). 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 83% below the list price for a Lipid Panel
Across the 33 metros publishing both, the chargemaster list price is typically 83% above what insurers negotiate. The widest gap is in Nashville: $766 list against $14 negotiated.
How many hospitals actually publish a Lipid Panel price
248 hospital price-file entries across 39 metros feed this page. A hospital appears only where its own file lists a rate for CPT 80061 — where it does not, it is absent from the table rather than filled in with a guess.
Lipid Panel price by metro
The typical insurer-negotiated price for a Lipid Panel, 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 | $12 | $12–$13 | $183 | 4 |
| Riverside, CA | $13 | $10–$70 | $101 | 6 |
| Sacramento, CA | $13 | $13–$17 | $156 | 4 |
| San Francisco, CA | $13 | $13–$15 | $156 | 7 |
| Orlando, FL | $14 | $12–$61 | — | 4 |
| Tampa, FL | $14 | $14–$24 | — | 6 |
| Nashville, TN | $14 | $14–$54 | — | 9 |
| Miami, FL | $15 | $5–$79 | — | 4 |
| Birmingham, AL | $16 | $13–$80 | — | 10 |
| Buffalo, NY | $16 | $13–$21 | — | 3 |
| Detroit, MI | $17 | $13–$26 | $22 | 6 |
| Virginia Beach, VA | $18 | $13–$23 | — | 6 |
| New York, NY | $20 | $14–$50 | $33 | 7 |
| Cleveland, OH | $20 | $14–$89 | $60 | 8 |
| Portland, OR | $21 | $14–$37 | — | 8 |
| Seattle, WA | $21 | $18–$108 | — | 8 |
| Raleigh, NC | $22 | $17–$22 | $38 | 3 |
| Philadelphia, PA | $23 | $13–$417 | $140 | 15 |
| Atlanta, GA | $24 | $10–$150 | $87 | 9 |
| Dallas, TX | $26 | $14–$312 | $28 | 10 |
| Hartford, CT | $27 | $13–$28 | — | 4 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $27 | $10–$101 | $66 | 5 |
| Memphis, TN | $27 | $1–$85 | — | 4 |
| Washington, DC | $29 | $14–$65 | $145 | 8 |
| Oklahoma City, OK | $31 | $12–$92 | — | 3 |
| Kansas City, MO | $31 | $23–$157 | — | 7 |
| St. Louis, MO | $32 | $15–$63 | $62 | 7 |
| Denver, CO | $33 | $12–$82 | $72 | 10 |
| Jacksonville, FL | $33 | $33 | $157 | 3 |
| Phoenix, AZ | $34 | $13–$95 | $28 | 10 |
| San Jose, CA | $35 | $13–$852 | — | 3 |
| Baltimore, MD | $57 | $42–$63 | — | 4 |
| Houston, TX | $60 | $49–$63 | — | 6 |
| San Diego, CA | $75 | $72–$117 | $78 | 4 |
| Milwaukee, WI | $85 | $30–$129 | $108 | 9 |
| Austin, TX | $100 | $14–$431 | $177 | 9 |
| Chicago, IL | $122 | $119–$134 | $83 | 3 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $161 | $15–$204 | $302 | 5 |
| San Antonio, TX | $195 | $13–$218 | — | 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 Lipid Panel cost?
- Across 39 U.S. metros the typical insurer-negotiated price is about $26, ranging from $12 in Indianapolis to $195 in San Antonio. Every figure is read from a named hospital's own price-transparency file for CPT 80061.
- Does the price include the doctor's fee?
- The published figure covers the panel analysis. Collection charges and, in hospital outpatient settings, facility fees can be additional. A directly measured LDL is a separate code from the panel.
- Why do Lipid Panel prices differ so much between hospitals?
- Prices for this panel differ across hospitals far more than the standardised test content justifies. As a preventive screening test it is frequently covered without cost-sharing under federal rules when ordered for screening rather than to monitor a diagnosed condition — a coding distinction, not a clinical one.