Rapid flu test cost in Boston, MA
In Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, 6 hospitals list a cash price for rapid flu test (influenza antigen): from $22.49 to $114.20, with a median of $37.10. The lowest listed price is at Boston Medical Center South — $14.61 less than the median here. Across Massachusetts, the median is $45.41 at 15 hospitals.
Cash prices at 6 facilities across 4 cities for code 87804, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between — and —.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Medical Center South lowest Brockton, MA · (508) 427-3000 HC Chg Detect Agent,Immun,Dir Obs,Influenza | $22.49 | $49.97 | $16.55–$394.86 | 55% | — source file |
| Boston Medical Center Brighton Boston, MA · (617) 789-3000 HC Chg Detect Agent,Immun,Dir Obs,Influenza | $25.57 | $56.81 | $12.67–$475.07 | 55% | — source file |
| Lowell General Hospital Lowell, MA · (978) 937-6000 HC Chg Iaadiadoo Influenza | $37.10 | $53.00 | $18.28–$56.68 | 30% | — source file |
| Melrosewakefield Healthcare Melrose, MA · (781) 979-3000 HC Chg Iaadiadoo Influenza | $37.10 | $53.00 | $18.55–$530.75 | 30% | — source file |
| Tufts Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 636-5000 HC Chg Iaadiadoo Influenza | $37.10 | $53.00 | $13.92–$71.84 | 30% | — source file |
| Shriners Childrens - Boston Boston, MA · (617) 722-3000 INFLUENZA ASSAY W/OPTIC | $114.20 | $114.20 | $14.32–$817.41 | — | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $22.49, median $37.10, highest $114.20 — a 5.1× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 5 facilities here, median $37.10. 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 6 of 6 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
A rapid flu test checks a nose or throat swab for influenza within minutes. The code is billed once for each flu type tested, so a test for A and B may be billed twice.
What the price covers
The price usually covers the swab and the test for one flu type; tests for A and B may be billed twice.