Rapid strep test cost in Austin, TX
In Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX, 18 hospitals list a cash price for rapid strep A antigen test from a throat swab, read visually: from $18.18 to $980.00, with a median of $77.77. The lowest listed price is at The Hospital at Westlake Medical Center — $59.59 less than the median here. Across Texas, the median is $98.80 at 219 hospitals.
- The median here, $77.77, is 32% above the US median of $59.00.
- That is 4.7× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($16.53).
- Austin, TX has the lowest median of 4 metro areas in Texas with at least 10 hospitals pricing this code.
- 2 of 18 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 18 facilities across 11 cities for code 87880, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Nov 11, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Sep 2, 2024 and Oct 30, 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 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Hospital at Westlake Medical Center lowest Austin, TX · (512) 327-0000 DIRECT STREP A NURSI+1 more line at this price File of Sep 2, 2024 · source file | $18.18 | $107.45 | $12.57–$117.32 | 83% |
| Ascension Seton Hays Kyle, TX · (512) 324-5000 RAPID STREP SCREEN+1 more line at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $34.47 | $95.75 | $12.84–$90.09 | 64% |
| Ascension Seton Smithville Smithville, TX · (512) 237-3214 RAPID STREP SCREEN+3 more lines at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $34.47 | $95.75 | $12.84–$90.09 | 64% |
| Ascension Seton Austin, TX RAPID STREP SCREEN+3 more lines at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $67.03 | $95.75 | $12.84–$90.09 | 30% |
| Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Lakeway Lakeway, TX · (512) 509-0401 HC INF AGENT DETECT STREP A+1 more line at this price File of Jun 13, 2026 · source file | $77.77 | $129.62 | $12.00–$116.66 | 40% |
| Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Buda Buda, TX · (737) 999-6200 HC INF AGENT DETECT STREP A+1 more line at this price File of Jun 13, 2026 · source file | $77.77 | $129.62 | $12.00–$104.30 | 40% |
| Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Round Rock Round Rock, TX · (512) 509-0401 HC INF AGENT DETECT STREP A+1 more line at this price File of Jun 13, 2026 · source file | $77.77 | $129.62 | $12.00–$116.66 | 40% |
| Baylor Scott & White Emergency Medical Center - Cedar Park Cedar Park, TX · (512) 509-0401 HC IAAD, STREP A EIA+1 more line at this price File of Jun 3, 2026 · source file | $77.77 | $129.62 | $17.36–$84.25 | 40% |
| Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Pflugerville Pflugerville, TX · (512) 654-6100 HC INF AGENT DETECT STREP A+1 more line at this price File of Jun 13, 2026 · source file | $77.77 | $129.62 | $12.00–$116.66 | 40% |
| Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Austin Austin, TX · (512) 654-2100 HC INF AGENT DETECT STREP A+1 more line at this price File of Jun 13, 2026 · source file | $77.77 | $129.62 | $12.00–$104.30 | 40% |
| Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Taylor Taylor, TX · (512) 352-7611 HC INF AGENT DETECT STREP A+1 more line at this price File of Oct 30, 2026 · source file | $80.88 | $134.80 | $13.00–$108.93 | 40% |
| Ascension Seton Southwest Austin, TX · (512) 324-9000 STREP A SCRN+3 more lines at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $84.51 | $234.75 | $12.84–$105.64 | 64% |
| Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin Austin, TX · (512) 324-1000 STREP A SCRN+3 more lines at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $84.51 | $234.75 | $12.84–$105.64 | 64% |
| Ascension Seton Northwest Austin, TX · (512) 324-6000 STREP A SCRN+3 more lines at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $84.51 | $234.75 | $12.84–$105.64 | 64% |
| Ascension Seton Hays Kyle, TX · (512) 324-5000 STREP A SCRN+1 more line at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $84.51 | $234.75 | $12.84–$105.64 | 64% |
| Dell Seton Medical Center at the University of Tx Austin, TX · (512) 324-7000 RAPID STREP SCREEN+3 more lines at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $84.51 | $234.75 | $12.84–$105.64 | 64% |
| Ascension Seton Edgar B Davis Luling, TX · (830) 875-7000 RAPID STREP SCREEN+1 more line at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $105.66 | $293.50 | $12.84–$132.07 | 64% |
| Pam Specialty Hospital of Luling Luling, TX Strep A W/Optic File of Aug 6, 2026 · source file | $165.30 | $165.30 | $12.40–$148.77 | — |
| St. David's Round Rock Medical Center Leander, TX · (512) 341-1000 STREP A OPTICAL IA File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $980.00 | $980.00 | $49.00–$882.00 | — |
Outpatient: lowest $18.18, median $77.77, highest $980.00 — a 53.9× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 16 facilities here, median $77.77. 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 16 of 18 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 rapid strep test is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Rapid strep test explained.