Urine dipstick, automated cost in Providence, RI
In Providence-Warwick, RI-MA, 10 hospitals list a cash price for urinalysis without microscope exam, automated: from $8.79 to $50.40, with a median of $17.50. The lowest listed price is at Brown University Health Morton Hospital — $8.71 less than the median here. Across Rhode Island, the median is $27.00 at 6 hospitals.
- The median here, $17.50, is 33% below the US median of $26.07.
- That is 7.8× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($2.25).
- 5 of 10 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 10 facilities across 7 cities for code 81003, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Dec 15, 2025 and Jul 24, 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 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown University Health Morton Hospital lowest Taunton, MA · (508) 828-7000 HC ROUTINE URINALYSIS File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $8.79 | $8.79 | — | — |
| Saint Anne's Hospital Fall River, MA · (508) 674-5600 HC ROUTINE URINALYSIS File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $10.87 | $10.87 | — | — |
| Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island Providence, RI · (401) 274-1100 HC Urinalysis, Auto, W/O Scope - Urinalysis Chem Only File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $12.60 | $36.00 | $1.04–$33.12 | 65% |
| Kent County Memorial Hospital Warwick, RI · (401) 737-7010 HC Urinalysis, Auto, W/O Scope - Urinalysis Chem Only File of Feb 28, 2026 · source file | $12.60 | $36.00 | $1.04–$31.68 | 65% |
| Southcoast Hospitals Group - St. Luke's Hospital St. New Bedford, MA HC Urinalysis- Auto- W/O Scope File of Dec 15, 2025 · source file | $17.50 | $35.00 | $2.25–$26.64 | 50% |
| Southcoast Hospitals Group Fall River, MA · (508) 679-3131 HC Urinalysis- Auto- W/O Scope File of Dec 15, 2025 · source file | $17.50 | $35.00 | $2.25–$26.64 | 50% |
| The Miriam Hospital Providence, RI · (401) 793-2500 HC URINALYSIS DIP STICK/TABLET AUTO WO MICRO SEND OUT+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $27.00 | $27.00 | — | — |
| Newport Hospital Newport, RI · (401) 846-6400 HC ROUTINE URINALYSIS+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $27.00 | $27.00 | — | — |
| Rhode Island Hospital Providence, RI · (401) 444-4000 HC URINALYSIS DIP STICK/TABLET AUTO WO MICRO SEND OUT+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $27.00 | $27.00 | — | — |
| South County Health Wakefield, RI · (401) 782-8000 Urinalysis, by dip stick or tablet reagent for bilirubin, glucose, hemoglobin, ketones, leukocytes, nitrite, pH, protein, specific gravity, urobilinogen, any number of these constituents; automated, without microscopy File of Jul 24, 2026 · source file | $50.40 | $84.00 | $3.48 | 40% |
Outpatient: lowest $8.79, median $17.50, highest $50.40 — a 5.7× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 5 facilities here, median $27.00. 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 4 of 5 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 urine dipstick, automated is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Urine dipstick, automated explained.
1 row held back from this comparison
It is 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Landmark Medical Center Woonsocket, RIHc Urinalysis, Auto, W/O Scope | $2.00 | file |