Urine dipstick, automated cost in San Diego, CA
In San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA, 17 hospitals list a cash price for urinalysis without microscope exam, automated: from $11.25 to $96.88, with a median of $32.33. The lowest listed price is at Rady Children's Hospital - San Diego — $21.08 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $56.00 at 198 hospitals.
- The median here, $32.33, is 24% above the US median of $26.07.
- That is 14.4× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($2.25).
- San Diego, CA has the lowest median of 5 metro areas in California with at least 10 hospitals pricing this code.
- Every hospital here lists a cash price below its full list price.
Cash prices at 17 facilities across 10 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 Mar 30, 2026 and May 29, 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 Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rady Children's Hospital - San Diego lowest San Diego, CA · (858) 576-1700 Scripps Nicu-Urinalysis-Macro Only File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $11.25 | $15.00 | — | 25% |
| Scripps Green Hospital La Jolla, CA · (858) 554-3600 HC Urine Screen+1 more line at this price File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $16.26 | $65.03 | $2.25–$52.02 | 75% |
| Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas Encinitas, CA · (760) 753-6501 HC Urine Screen+1 more line at this price File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $16.26 | $65.03 | $2.25–$52.02 | 75% |
| Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista San Diego, CA · (619) 294-8111 HC Urine Screen+1 more line at this price File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $16.26 | $65.03 | $2.25–$52.02 | 75% |
| Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla La Jolla, CA · (858) 626-4123 HC Sp Gravity+1 more line at this price File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $16.26 | $65.03 | $2.25–$52.02 | 75% |
| Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego San Diego, CA · (619) 294-8111 HC Sp Gravity+1 more line at this price File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $16.26 | $65.03 | $2.25–$52.02 | 75% |
| UC San Diego Medical Center San Diego, CA · (619) 543-6222 Automated Urinalysis Test File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $18.70 | $34.00 | $2.25–$45.90 | 45% |
| Scripps Green Hospital La Jolla, CA · (858) 554-3600 HC Urinalysis Macro/Sp Gravity File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $21.19 | $84.77 | $2.25–$67.82 | 75% |
| Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista San Diego, CA · (619) 294-8111 HC Urinalysis Macro/Sp Gravity File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $21.19 | $84.77 | $2.25–$67.82 | 75% |
| Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla La Jolla, CA · (858) 626-4123 HC Urinalysis Macro/Sp Gravity File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $21.19 | $84.77 | $2.25–$67.82 | 75% |
| Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego San Diego, CA · (619) 294-8111 HC Urinalysis Macro/Sp Gravity File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $21.19 | $84.77 | $2.25–$67.82 | 75% |
| Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas Encinitas, CA · (760) 753-6501 HC Urinalysis Macro/Sp Gravity File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $21.19 | $84.77 | $2.25–$67.82 | 75% |
| Palomar Medical Center Escondido Escondido, CA Urinalysis Screen Dipstick+8 more lines at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $32.33 | $53.88 | — | 40% |
| Palomar Medical Center Poway Poway, CA · (858) 485-6511 Protein Urine Dipstick+8 more lines at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $32.33 | $53.88 | — | 40% |
| Rady Children's Hospital - San Diego San Diego, CA · (858) 576-1700 Rsp Poc Urine Dipstick 307+6 more lines at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $37.50 | $50.00 | — | 25% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Diego - Clairemont Mesa San Diego, CA · (619) 528-5000 URNLS DIP STICK/TABLET RGNT AUTO W/O MICROSCOPY File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $59.80 | $115.00 | $2.00–$5.00 | 48% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Marcos San Marcos, CA · (760) 528-6295 URNLS DIP STICK/TABLET RGNT AUTO W/O MICROSCOPY File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $59.80 | $115.00 | $2.00–$5.00 | 48% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Diego - Zion San Diego, CA · (619) 528-5000 URNLS DIP STICK/TABLET RGNT AUTO W/O MICROSCOPY File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $59.80 | $115.00 | $2.00–$5.00 | 48% |
| Grossmont Hospital La Mesa, CA · (619) 465-0711 HC URINALYSIS AUTO W/O SCOPE - URINALYSIS CHEM ONLY File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $64.50 | $86.00 | $1.00–$64.50 | 25% |
| Sharp Memorial Hospital San Diego, CA · (858) 939-3400 HC URINALYSIS AUTO W/O SCOPE - URINALYSIS CHEM ONLY File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $64.50 | $86.00 | $1.15–$70.52 | 25% |
| Sharp Coronado Hospital and Healthcare Center Coronado, CA · (619) 435-6251 HC URINALYSIS AUTO W/O SCOPE - URINALYSIS CHEM ONLY File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $64.50 | $86.00 | $1.00–$84.28 | 25% |
| Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center Chula Vista, CA · (619) 502-5800 HC URINALYSIS AUTO W/O SCOPE - URINALYSIS CHEM ONLY File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $64.50 | $86.00 | $1.00–$77.40 | 25% |
| Rady Children's Hospital - San Diego San Diego, CA · (858) 576-1700 Rch Lab-Urinalysis Macro File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $75.00 | $100.00 | — | 25% |
| Tri-City Medical Center Oceanside, CA · (760) 724-8411 Urinalysis (POCT) File of May 29, 2026 · source file | $96.88 | $161.46 | $1.97–$127.39 | 40% |
| Tri-City Medical Center Oceanside, CA · (760) 724-8411 Clinitek Status POC Testing File of May 29, 2026 · source file | $106.81 | $178.02 | $1.97–$140.46 | 40% |
Outpatient: lowest $11.25, median $32.33, highest $96.88 — a 8.6× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 17 facilities here, median $32.33. 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 10 of 14 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.
4 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Paradise Valley Hospital National City, CAURINALYSIS AUTO WO MICR | $2.00 | file |
| Paradise Valley Hospital National City, CAUA,AUTO W/O MICRO LC | $2.00 | file |
| Paradise Valley Hospital National City, CAURINE DIPSTRICK | $2.00 | file |
| Paradise Valley Hospital National City, CAURINE, AUTOMATED WITH MICRO | $2.00 | file |