COVID-19 PCR test cost in Nashville, TN
In Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN, 18 hospitals list a cash price for COVID-19 PCR test (SARS-CoV-2 lab test): from $32.40 to $428.35, with a median of $64.35. The lowest listed price is at Metro Nashville General Hospital — $31.95 less than the median here. Across Tennessee, the median is $55.46 at 82 hospitals.
- The median here, $64.35, is 35% below the US median of $98.92.
- That is 1.3× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($51.31).
- Nashville, TN ranks 2nd of 2 metro areas in Tennessee by median, cheapest first.
- 7 of 18 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 18 facilities across 16 cities for code 87635, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Oct 31, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jan 1, 2026 and Oct 1, 2026.
Lowest$32.40Metro Nashville General Hospital
Median$64.35half of hospitals charge less
Highest$428.35in this market
Difference13.2×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 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN.
median
Lowest $32.40Highest $428.35
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metro Nashville General Hospital lowest Nashville, TN · (615) 341-4000 87635 IADNA SARS-COV-2 COVID-19 AMPLIFIED PROBE TQ File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $32.40 | $54.00 | — | 40% |
| Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital Murfreesboro, TN · (615) 396-4100 2019 CORONVIRUS SARS-COV-2 RAP+3 more lines at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $36.24 | $120.80 | $46.18–$79.02 | 70% |
| Stones River Hospital Woodbury, TN · (615) 563-4001 2019 CORONAVIRUS SARS-COV-2 RA+1 more line at this price File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file | $36.24 | $120.80 | $46.18–$79.02 | 70% |
| Saint Thomas West Hospital Harding Pk Nashville, TN · (615) 222-2111 2019 CORONAVIRUS SARS-COV-2 RA+1 more line at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $36.24 | $120.80 | $46.18–$79.02 | 70% |
| Tristar Ashland City Medical Center Ashland City, TN · (615) 792-3030 Infectious agent detection by nucleic acid (DNA or RNA); severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (coronavirus disease ºCOVID-19»), amplified probe technique +1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $42.00 | $42.00 | $7.73–$2,000.00 | — |
| Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital Lebanon, TN · (615) 444-2250 HC PCR SARS-COV2 (LOCAL)+1 more line at this price File of Oct 1, 2026 · source file | $43.21 | $149.00 | — | 71% |
| Tristar Summit Medical Center Mt Juliet, TN · (615) 316-3000 COVID-19 DNA/RNA AMP+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $55.00 | $55.00 | $10.13–$51.31 | — |
| Tristar Southern Hills Medical Center Antioch, TN · (615) 781-4000 Infectious agent detection by nucleic acid (DNA or RNA); severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (coronavirus disease ºCOVID-19»), amplified probe technique +1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $61.00 | $61.00 | $11.23–$53.68 | — |
| Tristar Centennial Medical Center Nashville, TN · (615) 342-1000 COVID-19 DNA/RNA AMP File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $62.00 | $62.00 | $11.41–$62.00 | — |
| Saint Thomas Hospital for Specialty Surgery one side Nashville, TN COVID-19 Ql RT-PCR File of Apr 14, 2026 · source file | $66.70 | $96.00 | $46.18–$584.01 | 31% |
| Saint Thomas Hospital for Specialty Surgery Nashville, TN COVID-19 PCR File of Apr 14, 2026 · source file | $66.70 | $57.00 | $46.18–$584.01 | -17% |
| Tristar Horizon Medical Center Dickson, TN · (615) 446-0446 COVID-19 DNA/RNA AMP+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $67.00 | $67.00 | $12.33–$61.64 | — |
| Tristar Hendersonville Medical Center Hendersonville, TN · (615) 338-1000 Infectious agent detection by nucleic acid (DNA or RNA); severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (coronavirus disease ºCOVID-19»), amplified probe technique +1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $68.00 | $68.00 | $12.52–$62.56 | — |
| Saint Thomas West Hospital Harding Pk Nashville, TN · (615) 222-2111 COVID-19 MICRO CEPHEID+1 more line at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $73.83 | $246.10 | $46.18–$79.02 | 70% |
| Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital Murfreesboro, TN · (615) 396-4100 COVID-19 MICRO CEPHEID+1 more line at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $73.83 | $246.10 | $46.18–$79.02 | 70% |
| Stones River Hospital Woodbury, TN · (615) 563-4001 COVID-19 MICRO CEPHEID+1 more line at this price File of Jul 1, 2026 · source file | $73.83 | $246.10 | $46.18–$79.02 | 70% |
| Metro Nashville General Hospital Nashville, TN · (615) 341-4000 COVID-19 PCR (SARS Cov2) File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $88.80 | $148.00 | — | 40% |
| Metro Nashville General Hospital Nashville, TN · (615) 341-4000 SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) IgG Ab File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $89.40 | $149.00 | — | 40% |
| Sumner Regional Medical Center Gallatin, TN · (615) 328-8888 Infectious agent detection by nucleic acid (DNA or RNA); severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (Coronavirus disease [COVID-19]), amplified probe technique File of Jul 10, 2026 · source file | $90.39 | $387.94 | $51.31 | 77% |
| Riverview Regional Medical Center Carthage, TN · (615) 735-9815 Infectious agent detection by nucleic acid (DNA or RNA); severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (Coronavirus disease [COVID-19]), amplified probe technique File of Jul 10, 2026 · source file | $116.71 | $358.01 | $57.28–$358.01 | 67% |
| Williamson Medical Center Franklin, TN · (615) 435-5000 SARS-COV-2;COVID-19 AMP PRO TE File of Aug 1, 2026 · source file | $167.46 | $297.00 | $119.69–$282.15 | 44% |
| Williamson Medical Center Franklin, TN · (615) 435-5000 COVID-19 File of Aug 1, 2026 · source file | $174.05 | $308.70 | $124.41–$293.26 | 44% |
| Trousdale Medical Center Hartsville, TN · (615) 374-2221 Infectious agent detection by nucleic acid (DNA or RNA); severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (Coronavirus disease [COVID-19]), amplified probe technique File of Jul 10, 2026 · source file | $181.51 | $358.01 | $128.88–$358.01 | 49% |
| Macon Community Hospital Lafayette, TN · (615) 666-2147 SARSCOV2 COVID19 RNA ACCULA+2 more lines at this price File of Mar 21, 2026 · source file | $184.74 | $307.90 | $51.31–$277.11 | 40% |
| Tristar Northcrest Medical Center Springfield, TN · (615) 384-2411 Infectious agent detection by nucleic acid (DNA or RNA); severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (coronavirus disease ºCOVID-19»), amplified probe technique +1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $428.35 | $428.35 | $51.31–$351.25 | — |
Hospital The hospital that published the price, its city and the line exactly as written in its price file.
Cash price The hospital's own price for a patient paying without insurance (“discounted cash” in its price file). Hospitals must publish it under federal law, 45 CFR 180.50. Call to confirm it before booking. More
List price The hospital's full chargemaster price (“gross charge”) before any discount. Almost nobody pays it; the gap to the cash price shows what the self-pay discount is worth. More
Insurers pay The lowest and highest rates this hospital has agreed with insurance plans for the same item, from its price file. If the cash price is below what your plan pays and you have not met your deductible, paying cash can cost you less. More
Off list How much lower the cash price is than the list price.
No cash discount This line's cash price equals the hospital's full list price. Many hospitals still reduce bills for uninsured patients: ask the billing office for its self-pay discount in writing. More
Outpatient: lowest $32.40, median $64.35, highest $428.35 — a 13.2× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 7 facilities here, median $36.24. 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 9 of 16 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at 4 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 COVID-19 PCR test is, what the price covers and why prices differ: COVID-19 PCR test explained.