How much does tissue pathology exam (biopsy), level IV cost in California?
CPT 88305 — the fair price, every hospital's price, and the Medicare benchmark for California.
Estimates only. Educational estimates from public Medicare
benchmarks and hospital-published prices — not a guarantee, and not legal, medical, or financial advice.
88305 Tissue pathology exam (biopsy), level IV
Ask to pay
$107
About 2.0× what Medicare pays — most hospitals accept a self-pay rate in this range.
Typical
$159
Medicare $53
Ask $107
$5 lowboxed = typical rangehigh $17,075
What Medicare paysⓘ
$53
Typical price near you
$159
Cash / self-pay price
$190
Prices near you — 92 facilities, lowest first
| Facility | Type | Price | vs Medicare | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adventist Health Bakersfield (Bakersfield) lowest ⚠ likely error | Hospital | $5cash | 0.1× | — |
| Adventist Health Simi Valley (Simi Valley) ⚠ likely error | Hospital | $7cash | 0.1× | — |
| Adventist Health White Memorial (Los Angeles) ⚠ likely error | Hospital | $12cash | 0.2× | — |
| Riverside University Health System Medical Center (Moreno Valley) | Hospital | $13cash | 0.3× | — |
| USC Arcadia Hospital (Arcadia) | Hospital | $15cash | 0.3× | — |
| Adventist Health Glendale (Glendale) | Hospital | $21cash | 0.4× | ★★★★★ |
| Dignity Mercy Medical Center Redding (Redding) | Hospital | $26cash | 0.5× | — |
| Kaweah Health Medical Center (Visalia) | Hospital | $32cash | 0.6× | — |
| Eisenhower Medical Center (Rancho Mirage) | Hospital | $33cash | 0.6× | ★★★★★ |
| Dignity Sequoia Hospital (Redwood City) | Hospital | $37cash | 0.7× | ★★★★★ |
| Desert Regional Medical Center (Palm Springs) | Hospital | $43cash | 0.8× | — |
| Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center (Pomona) | Hospital | $44cash | 0.8× | ★★★★★ |
| Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas (Encinitas) | Hospital | $48cash | 0.9× | ★★★★★ |
| Scripps Green Hospital (La Jolla) | Hospital | $48cash | 0.9× | ★★★★★ |
| Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego (San Diego) | Hospital | $48cash | 0.9× | ★★★★★ |
| Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista (Chula Vista) | Hospital | $48cash | 0.9× | — |
| Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla (La Jolla) | Hospital | $48cash | 0.9× | ★★★★★ |
| Centinela Hospital Medical Center (Inglewood) | Hospital | $66cash | 1.2× | — |
| Los Angeles General Medical Center (Los Angeles) | Hospital | $68negotiated | 1.3× | ★★★★★ |
| Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (Torrance) | Hospital | $68negotiated | 1.3× | — |
| Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital (Santa Rosa) | Hospital | $78cash | 1.5× | — |
| JFK Memorial Hospital (Indio) | Hospital | $92cash | 1.7× | — |
| Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center (Tarzana) | Hospital | $93negotiated | 1.7× | ★★★★★ |
| Los Robles Health System (Thousand Oaks) | Hospital | $103cash | 1.9× | — |
| Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center (Burbank) | Hospital | $105cash | 2.0× | — |
| Providence St. Mary Medical Center (Apple Valley) | Hospital | $116cash | 2.2× | — |
| Sutter Roseville Medical Center (Roseville) | Hospital | $122cash | 2.3× | ★★★★★ |
| Sutter Medical Center Sacramento (Sacramento) | Hospital | $122cash | 2.3× | ★★★★★ |
| Sutter Memorial Medical Center (Modesto) | Hospital | $122cash | 2.3× | — |
| Sutter CPMC Van Ness Campus (San Francisco) | Hospital | $130cash | 2.4× | — |
| Sutter Alta Bates Summit Medical Center (Oakland) | Hospital | $130cash | 2.4× | — |
| Sutter Mills-Peninsula Medical Center (Burlingame) | Hospital | $130cash | 2.4× | ★★★★★ |
| Dignity Bakersfield Memorial Hospital (Bakersfield) | Hospital | $134cash | 2.5× | — |
| Providence Holy Cross Medical Center (Mission Hills) | Hospital | $135cash | 2.5× | — |
| Dignity California Hospital Medical Center (Los Angeles) | Hospital | $135cash | 2.5× | — |
| Dignity Northridge Hospital Medical Center (Northridge) | Hospital | $157cash | 2.9× | ★★★★★ |
| Dignity Glendale Memorial Hospital (Glendale) | Hospital | $157cash | 2.9× | — |
| Clovis Community Medical Center (Clovis) | Hospital | $157cash | 2.9× | — |
| Community Regional Medical Center (Fresno) | Hospital | $157cash | 2.9× | — |
| UCI Health – Placentia Linda (Placentia) | Hospital | $158cash | 2.9× | — |
| UCI Health – Los Alamitos (Los Alamitos) | Hospital | $158cash | 2.9× | — |
| UCI Medical Center (Orange) | Hospital | $158cash | 2.9× | ★★★★★ |
| UCI Health – Fountain Valley (Fountain Valley) | Hospital | $158cash | 2.9× | — |
| Providence Little Company of Mary Torrance (Torrance) | Hospital | $161cash | 3.0× | ★★★★★ |
| Sutter Eden Medical Center (Castro Valley) | Hospital | $166cash | 3.1× | — |
| Dignity Dominican Hospital (Santa Cruz) | Hospital | $176cash | 3.3× | — |
| UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center (Santa Monica) | Hospital | $185negotiated | 3.5× | ★★★★★ |
| Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center (Los Angeles) | Hospital | $185negotiated | 3.5× | ★★★★★ |
| Dignity St. John's Regional Medical Center (Oxnard) | Hospital | $190cash | 3.6× | — |
| Providence Mission Hospital (Mission Viejo) | Hospital | $192cash | 3.6× | ★★★★★ |
| UC Davis Medical Center (Sacramento) | Hospital | $196cash | 3.7× | ★★★★★ |
| Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center (Los Angeles) | Hospital | $198cash | 3.7× | ★★★★★ |
| Kaiser Permanente Fontana Medical Center (Fontana) | Hospital | $198cash | 3.7× | — |
| Kaiser Permanente San Diego Zion Medical Center (San Diego) | Hospital | $198cash | 3.7× | ★★★★★ |
| Dignity Mercy General Hospital (Sacramento) | Hospital | $214cash | 4.0× | ★★★★★ |
| Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian (Newport Beach) | Hospital | $215cash | 4.0× | ★★★★★ |
| UC San Diego Health - Hillcrest & Jacobs Medical Center (San Diego) | Hospital | $216cash | 4.0× | — |
| Dignity St. Bernardine Medical Center (San Bernardino) | Hospital | $221cash | 4.1× | — |
| Kaiser Permanente Sacramento Medical Center (Sacramento) | Hospital | $230cash | 4.3× | ★★★★★ |
| Kaiser Permanente Fresno Medical Center (Fresno) | Hospital | $230cash | 4.3× | — |
| Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center (San Francisco) | Hospital | $230cash | 4.3× | ★★★★★ |
| Dignity St. Joseph's Medical Center (Stockton) | Hospital | $230cash | 4.3× | — |
| Tri-City Medical Center (Oceanside) | Hospital | $248cash | 4.6× | — |
| UCSF Medical Center (San Francisco) | Hospital | $249cash | 4.7× | ★★★★★ |
| Sharp Coronado Hospital (Coronado) | Hospital | $259cash | 4.8× | ★★★★★ |
| Sharp Grossmont Hospital (La Mesa) | Hospital | $259cash | 4.8× | ★★★★★ |
| Sharp Memorial Hospital (San Diego) | Hospital | $259cash | 4.8× | ★★★★★ |
| Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center (Chula Vista) | Hospital | $259cash | 4.8× | — |
| Dignity Mercy San Juan Medical Center (Carmichael) | Hospital | $269cash | 5.0× | — |
| Providence St. Joseph Hospital (Orange) | Hospital | $287cash | 5.4× | ★★★★★ |
| Natividad Medical Center (Salinas) | Hospital | $320cash | 6.0× | — |
| Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital (Santa Rosa) | Hospital | $339cash | 6.3× | — |
| UCI Health – Lakewood (Lakewood) | Hospital | $340cash | 6.4× | — |
| Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley (Pleasanton) | Hospital | $341cash | 6.4× | — |
| Keck Hospital of USC (Los Angeles) | Hospital | $348cash | 6.5× | ★★★★★ |
| Providence Queen of the Valley Medical Center (Napa) | Hospital | $379cash | 7.1× | — |
| Highland Hospital – Alameda Health System (Oakland) | Hospital | $400cash | 7.5× | — |
| Rady Children's Hospital (San Diego) | Hospital | $418cash | 7.8× | — |
| Loma Linda University Medical Center (Loma Linda) | Hospital | $420cash | 7.9× | ★★★★★ |
| Loma Linda University Medical Center – Murrieta (Murrieta) | Hospital | $420cash | 7.9× | — |
| Dignity St. Mary Medical Center (Long Beach) | Hospital | $496cash | 9.3× | — |
| Good Samaritan Hospital (San Jose) | Hospital | $524cash | 9.8× | — |
| Providence St. Jude Medical Center (Fullerton) | Hospital | $536cash | 10.0× | ★★★★★ |
| Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles) gross charge | Hospital | $565cash | 10.6× | ★★★★★ |
| Stanford Health Care (Stanford) gross charge | Hospital | $775cash | 14.5× | ★★★★★ |
| MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center (Laguna Hills) gross charge | Hospital | $862cash | 16.1× | ★★★★★ |
| MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center (Long Beach) gross charge | Hospital | $862cash | 16.1× | ★★★★★ |
| MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center (Fountain Valley) gross charge | Hospital | $862cash | 16.1× | — |
| Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford (Palo Alto) gross charge | Hospital | $969cash | 18.1× | — |
| Riverside Community Hospital (Riverside) gross charge | Hospital | $1,707cash | 31.9× | — |
| John Muir Health Walnut Creek Medical Center (Walnut Creek) gross charge | Hospital | $2,082cash | 39.0× | ★★★★★ |
| John Muir Health Concord Medical Center (Concord) gross charge | Hospital | $17,075cash | 319.6× | — |
Prices from each hospital's public machine-readable file; imaging & surgery-center prices are published self-pay rates (often the cheapest option). vs Medicare is how many times the Medicare rate each facility charges. 12 unusually low/high prices excluded from the typical price as likely data errors.
💬 What to say — negotiation scripts
- For 88305 (Tissue pathology exam (biopsy), level IV), Medicare's benchmark rate is $53.43. A fair self-pay target for this line is $106.86. If I was charged more than that, please reduce it toward this benchmark.
- Your own published cash / self-pay price for 88305 is $190.10, and negotiated rates at nearby facilities run $95.51–$282.19. Please apply a rate in that range to my bill rather than the gross charge.
- Please send a fully itemized bill listing every CPT/HCPCS/DRG code and its individual charge, so I can review each line against published rates.
- Separately, what is your financial assistance / charity care policy, and am I eligible? Please send me the application and the income thresholds.
See tissue pathology exam (biopsy), level IV prices in another area
What should 88305 cost in California?
For tissue pathology exam (biopsy), level IV (CPT 88305) in California, a fair self-pay price is around $159, with hospitals ranging from $96 to $282 across 92 facilities. Medicare's benchmark rate is $53, the floor to negotiate toward. The card above lists each hospital's price, cheapest first, with CMS quality stars.
Frequently asked questions
How much does tissue pathology exam (biopsy), level IV cost in California?
A fair self-pay price for tissue pathology exam (biopsy), level IV (CPT 88305) in California is around $159, with hospital prices ranging from $96 to $282 across 92 facilities. These are estimates from hospital-published prices, not a guarantee.
What is the Medicare rate for CPT 88305?
Medicare pays about $53 for tissue pathology exam (biopsy), level IV (CPT 88305). That's the negotiation floor — a fair cash-pay target is roughly 1.5–2× it, well below typical gross charges.
Can I negotiate the price of tissue pathology exam (biopsy), level IV?
Yes. Under the federal Hospital Price Transparency rule hospitals must publish these rates, so you can ask to pay the cash or negotiated rate instead of the gross charge. Paste your bill on the home page for a ready-to-send appeal letter and the exact numbers to cite.
Got a bill for this?
If you were charged more than the fair price, you can usually negotiate it down. Paste your itemized bill to get a personalized appeal letter, the exact numbers to cite, an AI negotiation coach, and a charity-care eligibility check — free.
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Prices last refreshed September 2026 from each hospital's official CMS machine-readable file. Medicare rate: CY2025 OPPS/PFS/CLFS. Estimates only — not a guarantee.