Rapid drug screen cost in Washington, DC
In Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, 12 hospitals list a cash price for rapid drug screen read by eye (cup, dipstick or card), per day: from $9.00 to $374.00, with a median of $104.50. The lowest listed price is at Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center — $95.50 less than the median here. Across District of Columbia, the median is $105.34 at 2 hospitals.
- The median here, $104.50, is 83% above the US median of $57.20.
- That is 8.3× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($12.60).
- 1 of 12 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 12 facilities across 9 cities for code 80305, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Oct 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Dec 30, 2024 and Sep 1, 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center lowest Woodbridge, VA · (703) 523-1000 Drug Test Prsmv Dir Opt Obs File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $9.00 | $18.00 | — | 50% |
| Mary Washington Hospital Fredericksburg, VA · (540) 741-1100 Drug test prsmv dir opt obs File of Dec 30, 2024 · source file | $19.00 | $38.00 | $13.00–$270.00 | 50% |
| Stafford Hospital Stafford, VA · (540) 741-9000 Drug test prsmv dir opt obs File of Dec 30, 2024 · source file | $19.00 | $38.00 | $13.00–$270.00 | 50% |
| Children's National Hospital Washington, DC · (202) 476-5000 POC Urine Drug Screen File of Apr 2, 2026 · source file | $32.50 | $65.00 | $12.60–$655.93 | 50% |
| Jefferson Medical Center Ranson, WV · (304) 728-1600 DRUG TEST PRSMV DIR OPT OBS File of Jul 12, 2026 · source file | $95.00 | $190.00 | — | 50% |
| Inova Mount Vernon Hospital Alexandria, VA · (703) 664-7105 HC DRUG TEST PRESUMPTIVE ANY DIRECT OPTICAL OBS PER DOS File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $104.50 | $209.00 | $12.60–$163.02 | 50% |
| Inova Fair Oaks Hospital Fairfax, VA · (703) 391-4170 HC DRUG TEST PRESUMPTIVE ANY DIRECT OPTICAL OBS PER DOS File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $104.50 | $209.00 | $12.60–$163.02 | 50% |
| Inova Loudoun Hospital Leesburg, VA · (703) 858-6600 HC DRUG TEST PRESUMPTIVE ANY DIRECT OPTICAL OBS PER DOS File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $104.50 | $209.00 | $12.60–$163.02 | 50% |
| Inova Alexandria Hospital Alexandria, VA · (703) 504-3167 HC DRUG TEST PRESUMPTIVE ANY DIRECT OPTICAL OBS PER DOS File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $104.50 | $209.00 | $12.60–$163.02 | 50% |
| Inova Fairfax Hospital Falls Church, VA · (703) 698-1110 HC DRUG TEST PRESUMPTIVE ANY DIRECT OPTICAL OBS PER DOS File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $104.50 | $209.00 | $12.60–$163.02 | 50% |
| MedStar Washington Hospital Center Washington, DC · (202) 877-7000 DRUG TEST PRSMV DIR OPT OBS File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $178.17 | $274.11 | $12.60–$232.99 | 35% |
| Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center Fredericksburg, VA · (540) 498-4000 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 | $374.00 | $374.00 | $12.60–$336.60 | — |
Outpatient: lowest $9.00, median $104.50, highest $374.00 — a 41.6× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 10 facilities here, median $104.50. 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 9 of 10 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at none is it 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.