Urine dipstick, automated cost in San Antonio, TX
In San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX, 13 hospitals list a cash price for urinalysis without microscope exam, automated: from $8.75 to $227.09, with a median of $227.09. The lowest listed price is at University Health System — $218.34 less than the median here. Across Texas, the median is $48.51 at 269 hospitals.
- The median here, $227.09, is 771% above the US median of $26.07.
- That is 100.9× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($2.25).
- San Antonio, TX ranks 4th of 4 metro areas in Texas by median, cheapest first.
- 9 of 13 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 13 facilities across 5 cities for code 81003, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Nov 4, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jan 13, 2026 and Oct 7, 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 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University Health System lowest San Antonio, TX · (210) 358-2000 HC PBB URINALYSIS, AUTO, W/O SCOPE+2 more lines at this price File of Oct 7, 2026 · source file | $8.75 | $35.00 | $1.89–$87.50 | 75% |
| Guadalupe Regional Medical Center Seguin, TX · (830) 379-2411 FORENSIC EXAM:UA W/O MICROS File of May 21, 2026 · source file | $15.00 | $30.00 | $2.25–$30.00 | 50% |
| Medina Regional Hospital Hondo, TX · (830) 426-7700 URINALYSIS AUTO W/O SCOPE File of Jul 29, 2026 · source file | $17.96 | $19.95 | $3.60–$19.95 | 10% |
| Medina Regional Hospital Hondo, TX · (830) 426-7700 URINE AUTO DIPSTICK File of Jul 29, 2026 · source file | $24.06 | $26.73 | $3.60–$26.73 | 10% |
| Guadalupe Regional Medical Center Seguin, TX · (830) 379-2411 URINALYSIS,AUTO W/O MICROSCOPY File of May 21, 2026 · source file | $31.00 | $62.00 | $2.25–$62.00 | 50% |
| Santa Rosa Hospital - Westover Hills San Antonio, TX · (210) 703-8211 HC 81003 UA AUTO W/O MICRO SG+1 more line at this price File of Jan 13, 2026 · source file | $41.25 | $125.00 | $1.13–$118.75 | 67% |
| Santa Rosa Hospital - Westover Hills San Antonio, TX · (210) 703-8211 HC 81003 UA AUTO W/O MICRO PROTEIN+3 more lines at this price File of Jan 13, 2026 · source file | $45.87 | $139.00 | $1.13–$132.05 | 67% |
| Metropolitan Methodist San Antonio, TX · (210) 575-4000 GLUC UR QUAL AUTO+5 more lines at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $227.09 | $227.09 | $11.35–$193.03 | — |
| Methodist Specialty and Transplant San Antonio, TX · (210) 575-4000 GLUC UR QUAL AUTO+6 more lines at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $227.09 | $227.09 | $11.35–$227.09 | — |
| Northeast Methodist San Antonio, TX · (210) 638-2101 GLUC UR QUAL AUTO+5 more lines at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $227.09 | $227.09 | $11.35–$193.03 | — |
| Methodist Hospital Westover Hills San Antonio, TX · (210) 638-2101 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, w +1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $227.09 | $227.09 | $1.89–$193.03 | — |
| Methodist Hospital Atascosa Jourdanton, TX · (830) 769-3515 GLUC UR QUAL AUTO+5 more lines at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $227.09 | $227.09 | $11.35–$193.03 | — |
| Methodist Hospital Landmark San Antonio, TX · (210) 638-2101 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, w +1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $227.09 | $227.09 | $1.89–$193.03 | — |
| Methodist Texsan Hospital San Antonio, TX · (210) 638-2101 PROTEIN UR QUAL AUTO+6 more lines at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $227.09 | $227.09 | $11.35–$193.03 | — |
| Methodist Hospital Stone Oak Spring Branch, TX · (210) 638-2101 GLUC UR QUAL AUTO+5 more lines at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $227.09 | $227.09 | $11.35–$193.03 | — |
| Methodist Hospital San Antonio, TX · (210) 575-4000 BILIRUBIN UR AUTO+5 more lines at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $227.09 | $227.09 | $11.35–$227.09 | — |
Outpatient: lowest $8.75, median $227.09, highest $227.09 — a 26.0× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 5 facilities here, median $17.96. 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 13 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.