Rapid drug screen cost in Houston, TX
In Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, 24 hospitals list a cash price for rapid drug screen read by eye (cup, dipstick or card), per day: from $12.35 to $455.00, with a median of $228.23. The lowest listed price is at Hsa St. Joseph — $215.88 less than the median here. Across Texas, the median is $106.41 at 164 hospitals.
- The median here, $228.23, is 299% above the US median of $57.20.
- That is 18.1× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($12.60).
- Houston, TX ranks 3rd of 3 metro areas in Texas by median, cheapest first.
- 4 of 24 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 24 facilities across 14 cities for code 80305, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Nov 1, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Feb 28, 2026 and Sep 17, 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hsa St. Joseph lowest Houston, TX · (713) 757-1000 DRUG TEST PRSMV DIR OPT OBS File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $12.35 | $42.43 | $3.85–$42.43 | 71% |
| Voyages of Sugar Land South Sugar Land, TX Drug Test Prsmv Dir Opt Obs File of Aug 6, 2026 · source file | $126.00 | $126.00 | $31.50–$94.50 | — |
| Sweeny Community Hospital Sweeny, TX · (979) 548-3311 Testing for presence of drug, read by direct observation File of Sep 8, 2026 · source file | $145.80 | $243.00 | $30.62–$243.00 | 40% |
| St Luke's Patients Medical Center Pasadena, TX · (281) 487-0700 DRUG TEST PRESUMP ANY NUMB DRU File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $154.67 | $441.90 | $10.05–$331.43 | 65% |
| St Luke's Lakeside Hospital The Woodlands, TX · (936) 266-4055 HC LAB DRUG SCREEN LATERAL FLOW File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $157.85 | $451.00 | $9.07–$451.00 | 65% |
| St Luke's the Woodlands Hospital The Woodlands, TX · (936) 266-4050 HC LAB DRUG SCREEN LATERAL FLOW File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $157.85 | $451.00 | $9.07–$451.00 | 65% |
| CHI St. Luke's Health Baylor College of Medicine Medical Center Houston, TX · (832) 355-1000 HC LAB DRUG SCREEN LATERAL FLOW File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $157.85 | $451.00 | $9.07–$451.00 | 65% |
| St Luke's Sugar Land Hospital Sugar Land, TX · (281) 637-7000 HC LAB DRUG SCREEN LATERAL FLOW File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $157.85 | $451.00 | $9.07–$451.00 | 65% |
| St. Lukes Hospital at the Vintage Houston, TX · (832) 534-5000 HC LAB DRUG SCREEN LATERAL FLOW File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $157.85 | $451.00 | $9.07–$451.00 | 65% |
| CHI St. Luke's Health Springwood Village Spring, TX · (936) 266-4050 HC LAB DRUG SCREEN LATERAL FLOW File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $157.85 | $451.00 | $9.07–$451.00 | 65% |
| Texas Children's Hospital Houston, TX · (832) 824-1000 TC DRUG OF ABUSE - SCREEN IN HOUSE+2 more lines at this price File of Mar 5, 2026 · source file | $160.13 | $239.00 | $12.60–$227.05 | 33% |
| HCA Houston Healthcare Medical Center Houston, TX · (713) 527-5019 DRUG SCR DOO MANUAL READ+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $223.45 | $223.45 | $13.41–$189.93 | — |
| The Methodist Hospital Houston, TX · (713) 790-2221 HC DRUGS OF ABUSE PANEL PLUS TCA File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $233.00 | $466.00 | — | 50% |
| HCA Houston Mainland Texas City, TX · (281) 332-2511 Drug test(s), presumptive, any number of drug classes, any number of devices or procedures; capable of being read by direct optical observation only (eg, utilizing immunoassay ºeg, dipsticks, cups, ca +1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $264.42 | $264.42 | $15.87–$237.98 | — |
| HCA Houston Healthcare Clear Lake Alvin, TX · (281) 332-2511 DRUG SCR DOO MANUAL READ File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $264.42 | $264.42 | $15.87–$237.98 | — |
| Elite Hospital Kingwood Kingwood, TX · (832) 777-6165 Drug test(s) presumptive any number of drug classes any number File of Sep 17, 2026 · source file | $326.84 | $653.67 | $403.62 | 50% |
| Methodist Willowbrook Hospital Houston, TX · (281) 477-1000 HC DRUGS OF ABUSE PANEL PLUS TCA File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $455.00 | $910.00 | — | 50% |
| Methodist West Houston Hospital Houston, TX · (832) 522-1000 HC DRUGS OF ABUSE PANEL PLUS TCA File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $455.00 | $910.00 | — | 50% |
| Methodist Sugar Land Hospital Sugar Land, TX · (281) 274-8000 HC DRUGS OF ABUSE PANEL PLUS TCA File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $455.00 | $910.00 | — | 50% |
| Houston Methodist Continuing Care Hospital Katy, TX HC DRUGS OF ABUSE PANEL PLUS TCA File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $455.00 | $910.00 | — | 50% |
| Houston Methodist Cypress Hospital Cypress, TX · (346) 618-1506 HC DRUGS OF ABUSE PANEL PLUS TCA File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $455.00 | $910.00 | — | 50% |
| Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital The Woodlands, TX · (936) 270-2000 HC DRUGS OF ABUSE PANEL PLUS TCA File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $455.00 | $910.00 | — | 50% |
| Houston Methodist Clear Lake Hospital Nassau Bay, TX · (281) 333-5503 HC DRUGS OF ABUSE PANEL PLUS TCA File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $455.00 | $910.00 | — | 50% |
| Houston Methodist Baytown Hospital Baytown, TX · (281) 420-8600 HC DRUGS OF ABUSE PANEL PLUS TCA File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $455.00 | $910.00 | — | 50% |
Outpatient: lowest $12.35, median $228.23, highest $455.00 — a 36.8× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 19 facilities here, median $233.00. 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 11 of 15 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at 1 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 rapid drug screen is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Rapid drug screen explained.