Shave skin biopsy cost in St. Louis, MO
In St. Louis, MO-IL, 11 hospitals list a cash price for tangential (shave-style) skin biopsy, one lesion: from $29.90 to $538.56, with a median of $198.25. The lowest listed price is at Mercy Hospital Jefferson — $168.35 less than the median here. Across Missouri, the median is $180.03 at 28 hospitals.
Cash prices at 11 facilities across 9 cities for code 11102, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jun 12, 2026 and Jun 12, 2026.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in St. Louis, MO-IL.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercy Hospital Jefferson lowest Festus, MO Tangntl Bx Skin Single Les Pf | $29.90 | $46.00 | $29.32–$1,106.00 | 35% | — source file |
| Mercy Hospital Lincoln Elsberry, MO Tangential Biopsy Skin Single Lesion | $150.00 | $200.00 | $80.00–$180.00 | 25% | Jun 12, 2026 source file |
| Mercy Hospital Lincoln Elsberry, MO Tangential Biopsy Skin Single Lesion | $150.00 | $200.00 | $80.00–$180.00 | 25% | Jun 12, 2026 source file |
| Mercy Hospital Lincoln Elsberry, MO Tangential Biopsy Skin Single Lesion | $150.00 | $200.00 | $80.00–$180.00 | 25% | Jun 12, 2026 source file |
| Mercy Hospital Lincoln Elsberry, MO Tangential Biopsy Skin Single Lesion | $150.00 | $200.00 | $80.00–$180.00 | 25% | Jun 12, 2026 source file |
| Mercy Hospitals East Communities Washington, MO Tangential Biopsy Skin Single Lesion | $150.00 | $200.00 | $80.00–$180.00 | 25% | Jun 12, 2026 source file |
| Mercy Hospital Lincoln Elsberry, MO Tangential Biopsy Skin Single Lesion | $150.00 | $200.00 | $80.00–$180.00 | 25% | Jun 12, 2026 source file |
| Mercy Hospital Washington Washington, MO Tangntl Bx Skin Single Les Mlp | $168.35 | $259.00 | $169.39–$1,106.00 | 35% | — source file |
| Mercy Hospital Lincoln Troy, MO · (636) 528-8551 Tangntl Bx Skin Single Les | $180.05 | $277.00 | $169.39 | 35% | — source file |
| Mercy Hospital St Louis Saint Louis, MO Tangntl Bx Skin Single Les Pf | $198.25 | $305.00 | $19.83–$305.00 | 35% | — source file |
| Mercy Hospital Washington Washington, MO Tangntl Bx Skin Single Les Pf | $198.25 | $305.00 | $19.83–$274.50 | 35% | — source file |
| Mercy Hospital Lincoln Troy, MO · (636) 528-8551 Tangntl Bx Skin Single Les Pf | $209.95 | $323.00 | $21.00–$323.00 | 35% | — source file |
| Mercy Hospital South Saint Louis, MO · (314) 525-1000 Tangntl Bx Skin Single Les | $250.90 | $386.00 | $1,386.00–$2,707.00 | 35% | — source file |
| Mercy Hospital Jefferson Festus, MO Tangntl Bx Skin Single Les | $353.60 | $544.00 | $1,368.00–$3,631.00 | 35% | — source file |
| Mercy Hospital St Louis Saint Louis, MO Tangntl Bx Skin Single Les | $356.20 | $548.00 | $1,632.00–$3,185.00 | 35% | — source file |
| St Josephs Hospital of the Hospital Sisters of the Third Order of St Francis Highland, IL · (618) 651-2600 HC BIOPSY SKIN TANGENTIAL INIT LESN | $409.68 | $569.00 | $113.80–$888.55 | 28% | — source file |
| St Josephs Hospital Hospital Sisters Third Order of St Francis Breese, IL · (618) 526-4511 HC BIOPSY SKIN TANGENTIAL INIT LESN | $447.84 | $622.00 | $174.16–$1,089.07 | 28% | — source file |
| Gateway Regional Medical Center Granite City, IL · (618) 798-3000 TNGNTL BX SKN SGL LES | $457.80 | $763.00 | $763.00 | 40% | — source file |
| St Elizabeths Hospital of the Hospital Sisters of the Third Order of St Francis O'Fallon, IL HC BIOPSY SKIN TANGENTIAL INIT LESN | $538.56 | $748.00 | $209.44–$1,082.34 | 28% | — source file |
| Mercy Hospital Washington Washington, MO Tangntl Bx Skin Single Les | $677.30 | $1,042.00 | $288.00 | 35% | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $29.90, median $198.25, highest $538.56 — a 18.0× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 6 facilities here, median $428.76. Inpatient and outpatient prices are not comparable and are kept on separate pages: the inpatient charge covers admission, not the same purchase.
Cash or insurance?
At 10 of 11 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at 3 it is below every plan's rate. If you have insurance but have not met your deductible, you usually pay your plan's negotiated rate, which falls somewhere in the "Insurers pay" column. Paying cash can cost less, but a cash payment usually does not count toward your deductible. Ask the hospital for both numbers before you book.
What it is
In this biopsy a thin layer of a skin spot is shaved or scooped off with a blade or curette and sent for testing. It is used to check moles, growths or rashes for skin cancer or other conditions.
What the price covers
The price covers taking the sample from one lesion. The pathologist's exam of the sample and the office or clinic visit are usually billed separately.
3 rows held back from this comparison
They are priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 11102 ($267.11). Such a line is almost always a physician's fee billed separately, an assistant's share or a placeholder — a real charge, but not the price of the procedure itself.
| Mercy Hospital St Louis Saint Louis, MOTangntl Bx Skin Single Les Mlp | $25.35 | file |
| Mercy Hospital Jefferson Festus, MOTangntl Bx Skin Single Les Mlp | $25.35 | file |
| Mercy Hospital Lincoln Troy, MOTangntl Bx Skin Single Les Mlp | $25.35 | file |