Urinalysis, automated cost in New Orleans, LA
In New Orleans-Metairie, LA, 12 hospitals list a cash price for urinalysis with microscope exam, automated: from $5.76 to $54.74, with a median of $24.96. The lowest listed price is at St Bernard Parish Hospital — $19.20 less than the median here. Across Louisiana, the median is $23.68 at 55 hospitals.
- The median here, $24.96, is 41% below the US median of $42.25.
- That is 7.9× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($3.17).
- Every hospital here lists a cash price below its full list price.
Cash prices at 12 facilities across 6 cities for code 81001, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Apr 1, 2026 and Sep 16, 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 New Orleans-Metairie, LA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Bernard Parish Hospital lowest Chalmette, LA · (504) 826-9500 HC URINALYSIS, AUTO W/MICRO File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $5.76 | $18.00 | $1.33–$13.50 | 68% |
| University Med Center New Orleans, LA · (504) 702-3000 Manual Urinalysis Test With Examination Using Microscope File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file | $7.48 | $34.00 | $11.74–$8.18 | 78% |
| Ochsner Medical Center – Kenner Kenner, LA · (504) 464-8065 HC URINALYSIS, AUTO W/MICRO+1 more line at this price File of Sep 16, 2026 · source file | $11.76 | $42.00 | $2.85–$36.08 | 72% |
| St Charles Parish Hospital Luling, LA · (985) 785-3644 HC URINALYSIS, AUTO W/MICRO File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $14.58 | $54.00 | $2.84–$45.90 | 73% |
| St Charles Surgical Hospital New Orleans, LA · (504) 529-6600 LCMC UA W REFLEX TO CULTURE File of Aug 17, 2026 · source file | $21.51 | $61.00 | $3.11–$27.94 | 65% |
| New Orleans East Hospital New Orleans, LA · (504) 592-6600 Manual Urinalysis Test With Examination Using Microscope File of Jun 24, 2026 · source file | $23.68 | $148.00 | $148.00–$88.80 | 84% |
| West Jefferson Medical Center Marrero, LA · (504) 347-5511 Manual Urinalysis Test With Examination Using Microscope File of Jun 30, 2026 · source file | $26.24 | $164.00 | $125.46–$77.74 | 84% |
| Touro Infirmary New Orleans, LA · (504) 897-8247 Manual Urinalysis Test With Examination Using Microscope File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file | $29.96 | $214.00 | $108.93–$85.60 | 86% |
| Childrens Hospital New Orleans, LA · (504) 899-9511 Manual Urinalysis Test With Examination Using Microscope File of Jun 24, 2026 · source file | $50.22 | $186.00 | $118.67–$90.94 | 73% |
| Tulane Medical Center New Orleans, LA · (504) 988-5263 Manual Urinalysis Test With Examination Using Microscope File of Jun 25, 2026 · source file | $54.74 | $391.00 | $10.02–$97.75 | 86% |
| Lakeside Hospital Metairie, LA · (504) 988-5263 Manual Urinalysis Test With Examination Using Microscope File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file | $54.74 | $391.00 | $10.02–$97.75 | 86% |
| East Jefferson General Hospital Metairie, LA · (504) 988-5263 Manual Urinalysis Test With Examination Using Microscope File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file | $54.74 | $391.00 | $10.02–$97.75 | 86% |
Outpatient: lowest $5.76, median $24.96, highest $54.74 — a 9.5× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 6 facilities here, median $8.84. 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 12 of 12 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at 5 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 urinalysis, automated is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Urinalysis, automated explained.
2 rows held back from this comparison
They are priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 81001 ($40.30). 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.
| Hospital | Cash price | File |
|---|---|---|
| Ochsner Clinic Foundation New Orleans, LAHC URINALYSIS, AUTO W/MICRO | $3.52 | file |
| Ochsner Clinic Foundation New Orleans, LAHC POC URINALYSIS, AUTO W/MICRO | $3.52 | file |