Urine dipstick, automated cost in Pittsburgh, PA
In Pittsburgh, PA, 24 hospitals list a cash price for urinalysis without microscope exam, automated: from $7.98 to $71.40, with a median of $18.05. The lowest listed price is at UPMC Washington — $10.07 less than the median here. Across Pennsylvania, the median is $17.85 at 101 hospitals.
- The median here, $18.05, is 31% below the US median of $26.07.
- That is 8.0× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($2.25).
- Pittsburgh, PA has the lowest median of 2 metro areas in Pennsylvania with at least 10 hospitals pricing this code.
- Every hospital here lists a cash price below its full list price.
Cash prices at 24 facilities across 16 cities for code 81003, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Nov 7, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Dec 17, 2025 and Oct 28, 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 Pittsburgh, PA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UPMC Washington lowest Washington, PA · (724) 225-7000 URINALYSIS+1 more line at this price File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $7.98 | $11.40 | $1.57–$8.21 | 30% |
| Monogahela Valley Hospital Monongahela, PA · (724) 258-1000 URINE AUTO W/O MICRO+1 more line at this price File of Feb 2, 2026 · source file | $10.20 | $17.00 | $4.57–$20.83 | 40% |
| Armstrong County Memorial Hospital Kittanning, PA URINALAYSIS W/O MICROSCOP File of Mar 2, 2026 · source file | $10.20 | $34.00 | $2.03–$34.00 | 70% |
| UPMC Jameson New Castle, PA · (724) 656-4100 URINE MACRO File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $10.20 | $17.00 | $2.22–$24.08 | 40% |
| UPMC Washington Washington, PA · (724) 225-7000 SP GRAVITY-UR File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $11.06 | $15.80 | $1.57–$11.38 | 30% |
| Uniontown Hospital Uniontown, PA · (724) 430-5000 AUTOMATED URINALYSIS TEST File of Jul 9, 2026 · source file | $11.50 | $23.00 | $2.13–$171.55 | 50% |
| Uniontown Hospital Uniontown, PA · (724) 430-5000 URINALYSIS AUTO W/O SCOPE File of Jul 9, 2026 · source file | $13.00 | $26.00 | $2.13–$171.55 | 50% |
| Allegheny Valley Hospital Natrona Heights, PA · (412) 224-5100 HC URINE AUTO WO MICROSCOPY File of Oct 28, 2026 · source file | $13.86 | $18.00 | $1.09–$6.30 | 23% |
| Canonsburg General Hospital Canonsburg, PA · (724) 745-6100 HC URINE AUTO WO MICROSCOPY File of Oct 28, 2026 · source file | $14.04 | $18.00 | $1.09–$6.30 | 22% |
| Forbes Hospital Monroeville, PA · (412) 858-2000 HC URINE AUTO WO MICROSCOPY File of Oct 28, 2026 · source file | $14.04 | $18.00 | $1.09–$34.10 | 22% |
| West Penn Hospital Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 578-5000 HC URINE AUTO WO MICROSCOPY File of Oct 28, 2026 · source file | $14.60 | $20.00 | $1.12–$7.45 | 27% |
| Allegheny General Hospital Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 359-3131 HC URINE AUTO WO MICROSCOPY File of Oct 28, 2026 · source file | $15.20 | $20.00 | $1.12–$7.52 | 24% |
| Jefferson Regional Medical Center Jefferson Hills, PA · (412) 469-5000 HC URINE AUTO WO MICROSCOPY File of Oct 28, 2026 · source file | $15.39 | $19.00 | $1.09–$6.30 | 19% |
| Monogahela Valley Hospital Monongahela, PA · (724) 258-1000 HEMA-STIX URINE File of Feb 2, 2026 · source file | $15.60 | $26.00 | $6.99–$31.86 | 40% |
| UPMC Washington Washington, PA · (724) 225-7000 BILIRUBIN-UR File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $15.89 | $22.70 | $1.57–$16.34 | 30% |
| Butler Memorial Hospital Butler, PA Urine Protein Qual+8 more lines at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $17.50 | $25.00 | $4.68–$26.25 | 30% |
| Excela Health - Frick Hospital Mt Plesant, PA · (724) 547-1500 PH, URINE+2 more lines at this price File of Dec 17, 2025 · source file | $18.60 | $31.00 | $41.81–$444.00 | 40% |
| Excela Health Westmoreland Regional Hospital Greeensburg, PA · (724) 832-4000 SPEC GRAVITY URINE+2 more lines at this price File of Dec 17, 2025 · source file | $18.60 | $31.00 | $2.09–$118.00 | 40% |
| Excela Health Latrobe Hospital Latrobe, PA · (724) 832-4000 UA MACROSCOPIC DIPSTICK+2 more lines at this price File of Dec 17, 2025 · source file | $18.60 | $31.00 | $2.09–$24.80 | 40% |
| UPMC Jameson New Castle, PA · (724) 656-4100 URINALYSIS AUTOMATED+1 more line at this price File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $24.60 | $41.00 | $2.22–$36.08 | 40% |
| UPMC East Monroeville, PA · (412) 357-3000 CLINITEK URINE HCG TEST File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $26.40 | $44.00 | $2.22–$35.20 | 40% |
| Highlands Hospital Connellsville, PA · (724) 628-1500 SPECIFIC GRAVITY URINE+2 more lines at this price File of Feb 2, 2026 · source file | $29.40 | $49.00 | $16.51–$38.22 | 40% |
| UPMC Mercy Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 232-8111 POC URINALYSIS/CLINITEK+3 more lines at this price File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $34.80 | $58.00 | $1.88–$52.20 | 40% |
| UPMC St Margaret Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 784-4000 URINE MACRO+2 more lines at this price File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $40.80 | $68.00 | $1.94–$57.80 | 40% |
| UPMC Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 692-5325 SPECIFIC GRAVITY URINE-C+1 more line at this price File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $43.20 | $72.00 | $2.00–$64.80 | 40% |
| UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 641-4010 HC URINALYSIS AUTO W/O SCOPE File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $46.20 | $77.00 | $2.11–$70.84 | 40% |
| UPMC East Monroeville, PA · (412) 357-3000 URINE MACRO CLINTEK+1 more line at this price File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $46.80 | $78.00 | $2.22–$62.40 | 40% |
| UPMC Presbyterian Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 647-2345 URINALYSIS AUTOMATED+6 more lines at this price File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $49.20 | $82.00 | $2.22–$69.70 | 40% |
| UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 641-4010 HC URINALYSIS AUTO W/O MICRO+1 more line at this price File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $49.20 | $82.00 | $2.11–$75.44 | 40% |
| UPMC McKeesport McKeesport, PA · (412) 664-2000 GLUCOSE URINE QUALITATIVE C+7 more lines at this price File of Mar 6, 2026 · source file | $53.40 | $89.00 | $2.09–$75.65 | 40% |
| UPMC Passavant - McCandless Pittsburgh, PA · (412) 367-6700 HC URINALYSIS AUTOMATED+1 more line at this price File of Mar 7, 2026 · source file | $71.40 | $119.00 | $2.09–$101.15 | 40% |
Outpatient: lowest $7.98, median $18.05, highest $71.40 — a 8.9× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 25 facilities here, median $18.60. 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 19 of 24 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 urine dipstick, automated is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Urine dipstick, automated explained.
3 rows held back from this comparison
They are priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 81003 ($24.00). 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced Surgical Hospital Washington, PAUA W/O MICROSCOPY | $2.25 | file |
| Advanced Surgical Hospital Washington, PAURINALYSIS W/O MICROSCOPY - ASH | $2.25 | file |
| Advanced Surgical Hospital Washington, PAURINALYSIS AUTO W/O MICRO - CGH (81003) | $2.25 | file |