A recent study published in BMJ Open, the online publication of the British Medical Journal, found that California hospitals charge anywhere between US$10 to US$10,000 dollars for a simple blood test.

The shocking price range was discovered by researchers for the University of California at San Francisco when it checked the prices for the 10 most common types of blood tests at 160 to 180 California hospitals in 2011.

Like Us on Facebook

For a basic metabolic panel, the average charge was US$214 with different hospitals charging a very wide range of US$35 to US $7,303. The test measures sodium, potassium and glucose levels in the blood.

The most expensive blood test is a lipid panel that checks for the levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood. On average, the test costs US$220, but the remarkable disparity from one health facility to another ranged from US$10 to US$10,169.

The only blood test with the smallest end-to-end range was a blood test that checked for a protein that indicates muscle inflammation. The test costs anywhere from US 10 to US$628.

Senior researcher Renee Hsia, associate professor of emergency medicine at UCSF and director of health policy studies at the Department of Emergency Medicine, said she was extremely astonished at the prices, especially since the blood tests were common and very simple.

"In general, for most of these tests, nobody is doing hand assays or looking into a microscope," Hsia said.

The disparity, Hsia noted, shows that the way healthcare prices are set "is so irrational".

County hospitals and teaching hospitals usually priced lower than non-teaching hospitals. Not-for-profit and for-profit hospitals also had a big disparity in costs.

Hsia and her team concluded there is no absolute reason for the price differences. There are several reasons that could be behind the price range, including the fact that hospitals recoup losses by subsidizing some services with others.

Jan Emerson-Shea, the association's vice president for external affairs, said each hospital has its own strategy when it comes to pricing their services and that these are reflected in costs such as the acquisition of new technology and hospital improvements.