Lab tests CPT 87493 Outpatient

C. diff test cost in Akron, OH

In Akron, OH, 4 hospitals list a cash price for C. difficile toxin gene test (stool PCR): from $141.00 to $240.75, with a median of $170.90. The lowest listed price is at University Hospitals Health System — $29.90 less than the median here. Across Ohio, the median is $130.00 at 99 hospitals.

Cash prices at 4 facilities across 3 cities for code 87493, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Nov 11, 2025 and Jul 14, 2026.

Lowest$141.00University Hospitals Health System
Median$170.90half pay less
Highest$240.75in this market
Difference1.7×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 Akron, OH.

median
Lowest $141.00Highest $240.75

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash price List priceInsurers payOff listFile date
University Hospitals Health System lowest Ravenna, OH · (330) 297-2300 HC C DIFFICILE AMPLIFIED PROBE $141.00 $188.00 $20.50–$169.20 25% Jul 14, 2026
source file
Akron General Medical Center Akron, OH · (330) 344-6000 AMPLIFICATION, CLOSTRIDIUM DIFFICILE $167.05 $257.00 $0.95–$152.73 35% Jun 15, 2026
source file
Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron Akron, OH · (330) 543-8290 HBI C.DIFFICILE BY AMPLIFICATION $174.75 $233.00 $79.22–$230.44 25% Nov 11, 2025
source file
Crystal Clinic Orthopaedic Center Fairlawn, OH Detection test by nucleic acid for clostridium difficile, amplified probe technique $240.75 $321.00 $37.27–$760.93 25% Jun 19, 2026
source file

Outpatient: lowest $141.00, median $170.90, highest $240.75 — a 1.7× difference within the same market.

As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 2 facilities here, median $154.03. 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 3 of 4 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 it is

This stool test looks for the toxin gene of Clostridioides difficile, a cause of severe diarrhea, often after antibiotics or a hospital stay.

What the price covers

The price usually covers running the stool test; the collection kit is often included.