Lab tests CPT 81002 Inpatient — admitted to hospital

Urine dipstick test cost in New Orleans, LA — inpatient

In New Orleans-Metairie, LA, 4 hospitals list a cash price for urinalysis without microscope exam, manual as an inpatient: from $3.30 to $17.28, with a median of $5.22. The lowest listed price is at Ochsner Clinic Foundation — $1.92 less than the median here. Across Louisiana, the median is $6.53 at 40 hospitals.

Cash prices at 4 facilities across 3 cities for code 81002, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between — and —.

Lowest$3.30Ochsner Clinic Foundation

Median$5.22half of hospitals charge less

Highest$17.28in this market

Difference5.2×highest vs lowest

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.

median

Lowest $3.30Highest $26.04

Hospitals, cheapest first

Hospital	Cash price	List price	Insurers pay	Off list
Ochsner Clinic Foundation lowest New Orleans, LA · (504) 842-3000 *HC PROTEIN, QUALI-URINE+2 more lines at this price source file	$3.30	$15.00	—	78%
Ochsner Medical Center – Kenner Kenner, LA · (504) 464-8065 HC URINALYSIS W/O MICRO NON-AUTO+1 more line at this price source file	$5.04	$18.00	—	72%
St Charles Parish Hospital Luling, LA · (985) 785-3644 HC URINALYSIS W/O MICRO NON-AUTO source file	$5.40	$20.00	—	73%
St Charles Surgical Hospital New Orleans, LA · (504) 529-6600 UA NON-AUTO W/O MICRO source file	$17.28	$49.00	$3.41–$22.44	65%
Ochsner Medical Center – Kenner Kenner, LA · (504) 464-8065 *HC PROTEIN, QUALI-URINE+1 more line at this price source file	$26.04	$93.00	—	72%

Hospital The hospital that published the price, its city and the line exactly as written in its price file.

Cash price The hospital's own price for a patient paying without insurance (“discounted cash” in its price file). Hospitals must publish it under federal law, 45 CFR 180.50. Call to confirm it before booking. More

List price The hospital's full chargemaster price (“gross charge”) before any discount. Almost nobody pays it; the gap to the cash price shows what the self-pay discount is worth. More

Insurers pay The lowest and highest rates this hospital has agreed with insurance plans for the same item, from its price file. If the cash price is below what your plan pays and you have not met your deductible, paying cash can cost you less. More

Off list How much lower the cash price is than the list price.

Inpatient: lowest $3.30, median $5.22, highest $17.28 — a 5.2× difference within the same market.

As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 11 facilities here, median $6.16 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.

Cash or insurance?

At the one hospital here that publishes insurer rates for this code, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated. 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

This is a simple urine dipstick test read by hand, without a microscope exam. It checks for things like protein, sugar, blood and signs of infection, and is often done right in a clinic or doctor's office.

What the price covers

The price covers the dipstick test only. A microscope exam or culture would be billed under other codes.