CPT 87210 · 1,677 hospitals reporting

Smear for infectious agents

The same procedure costs $50 at one hospital and $959 at another — a 19× spread for what's billed under the same code. Median: $74.13.

Cheapest published

$50

688 entries below $50 already filtered. Remaining low values usually reflect partial-cost line items (professional fee only), not full bills.

Median across 1,677 hospitals

$74.13

The realistic middle of the cash-price distribution. Use this as your benchmark.

Most expensive

$959

Highest published price. Often a gross-charge "list price" rarely actually paid.

Price distribution

412 hospitals · log-scale x-axis

Each bar = number of hospitals charging in that price range. Emerald bar contains the median. Amber dots = entries we flagged as likely partial-cost line items (excluded from the table below).

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Why some prices look unrealistically low or high

Hospitals publish their machine-readable files (MRFs) the way they choose. A single procedure code can appear with very different prices depending on what's being charged:

Global price — facility + implant + anesthesia + surgeon. This is what you'd actually be billed.
Professional fee only — surgeon's portion. Often $500–$2,500 for a major procedure that costs $20K+ globally.
Facility fee only — operating room and recovery, no implant or surgeon.
Per-unit / per-minute charges — e.g. anesthesia time billed at $0.68/min appearing under a CPT code.
Rate multipliers — values like 0.85 meaning "85% of Medicare" rather than dollars.

We filter the most obvious artifacts (under $50, or 25× above the median), but rows in the $500–$2K range for a major procedure are typically professional-only and we can't always tell. Use the median and high-end as the realistic range; treat very low rows as partial-cost line items, not full bills.

500 hospitals reporting

Hospital	State	Gross	Cash price	Min negotiated	Max negotiated	Your insurer
MONTEFIORE NEW ROCHELLE HOSPITAL	NY	$114	$74.1	—	—	5 insurers
ST FRANCIS HOSPITAL	IL	$103	$74.16	—	—	5 insurers
HSHS GOOD SHEPHERD HOSPITAL INC	IL	$103	$74.16	—	—	5 insurers
DESOTO REGIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM	LA	$106	$74.2	—	—	5 insurers
UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS SAMARITAN MEDICAL CENTER	OH	$99	$74.25	—	—	0 insurers
DOYLESTOWN HOSPITAL	PA	$74	$74	—	—	5 insurers
CHI SAINT JOSEPH FLAGET MEMORIAL HOSPITAL	KY	$174	$73.83	$127	$158	5 insurers
CHI SAINT JOSEPH FLAGET MEMORIAL HOSPITAL	KY	$174	$73.83	$3.05	$158	5 insurers
LOS ALAMOS MEDICAL CENTER	NM	$123	$73.52	—	—	1 insurers
BOCA RATON REGIONAL HOSPITAL	FL	$115	$74.75	—	—	5 insurers
SANFORD CHAMBERLAIN MEDICAL CENTER	SD	$91	$72.8	—	—	5 insurers
MERCY HOSPITAL OF FOLSOM	CA	$194	$75.47	$21.34	$159	5 insurers
MERCY HOSPITAL OF FOLSOM	CA	$194	$75.47	$3.56	$178	5 insurers
FAIRFIELD MEMORIAL HOSPITAL 1	IL	$95	$76	—	—	5 insurers
SAUK PRAIRIE HOSPITAL	WI	$139	$76.04	—	—	5 insurers
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL COLORADO	CO	$111	$72.15	—	—	5 insurers
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL COLORADO - COLORADO SPRINGS	CO	$111	$72.15	—	—	5 insurers
SANFORD THIEF RIVER FALLS MEDICAL CENTER	MN	$90	$72	—	—	5 insurers
SAUNDERS MEDICAL CENTER	NE	$96	$72	—	—	0 insurers
DIGNITY HEALTH - ARIZONA GENERAL HOSPITAL	AZ	$333	$76.26	$176	$272	2 insurers
DIGNITY HEALTH - ARIZONA GENERAL HOSPITAL	AZ	$333	$76.26	$3.49	$272	5 insurers
ST MARY MEDICAL CENTER	CA	$333	$76.26	$176	$272	2 insurers
ST MARY MEDICAL CENTER	CA	$333	$76.26	$3.49	$272	5 insurers
SIERRA NEVADA MEMORIAL HOSPITAL	CA	$140	$76.3	$5.11	$137	5 insurers
MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGERY HOSPITAL	KS	$76.7	$76.7	—	—	0 insurers
SAINT ROSE DOMINICAN HOSPITALS - SIENA CAMPUS	NV	$314	$71.28	$94.2	$226	4 insurers
SAINT ROSE DOMINICAN HOSPITALS - SIENA CAMPUS	NV	$314	$71.28	$2.68	$226	5 insurers
MEDICAL WEST, AN AFFILIATE OF UAB HEALTH SYSTEM	AL	$308	$77	—	—	5 insurers
PHYSICIANS CENTRE,THE	TX	$77	$77	—	—	5 insurers
IVINSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL	WY	$77	$77	—	—	5 insurers
CENTRAL CAROLINA HOSPITAL	NC	$178	$71.05	—	—	5 insurers
FLOYD CHEROKEE MEDICAL CENTER	AL	$142	$71	—	—	1 insurers
CHI HEALTH MERCY COUNCIL BLUFFS	IA	$168	$70.56	$101	$143	3 insurers
CHI HEALTH MERCY COUNCIL BLUFFS	IA	$168	$70.56	$5.64	$143	5 insurers
CHI HEALTH BERGAN MERCY	NE	$168	$70.56	$101	$143	3 insurers
CHI HEALTH BERGAN MERCY	NE	$168	$70.56	$5.64	$143	5 insurers
CHI HEALTH IMMANUEL	NE	$168	$70.56	$101	$143	3 insurers
CHI HEALTH IMMANUEL	NE	$168	$70.56	$5.64	$143	5 insurers
CHI HEALTH MIDLANDS	NE	$168	$70.56	$101	$143	3 insurers
CHI HEALTH MIDLANDS	NE	$168	$70.56	$5.64	$143	5 insurers