Rapid strep test cost in Columbus, OH
In Columbus, OH, 18 hospitals list a cash price for rapid strep A antigen test from a throat swab, read visually: from $23.85 to $158.10, with a median of $55.58. The lowest listed price is at Fairfield Medical Center — $31.73 less than the median here. Across Ohio, the median is $57.20 at 120 hospitals.
- The median here, $55.58, is 6% below the US median of $59.00.
- That is 3.4× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($16.53).
- Columbus, OH has the lowest median of 3 metro areas in Ohio with at least 10 hospitals pricing this code.
- 1 of 18 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 18 facilities across 12 cities for code 87880, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Feb 26, 2026 and Apr 1, 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 Columbus, OH.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfield Medical Center lowest Lancaster, OH · (740) 687-8000 Group A Streptococcus Ag w/ Reflex culture+1 more line at this price File of Feb 26, 2026 · source file | $23.85 | $53.00 | $13.73–$53.00 | 55% |
| Grady Memorial Hospital Delaware, OH · (740) 368-5145 Hc Fsed Rapid Strep Antigen Grp A Throat+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $36.40 | $56.00 | — | 35% |
| Berger Hospital Circleville, OH · (740) 420-8008 Hc Fsed Rapid Strep Antigen Grp A Throat+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $37.05 | $57.00 | — | 35% |
| Mount Carmel Dublin Dublin, OH · (380) 898-9000 HC Infectious Agent Antigen Immunoassay Direct Optical Observation Streptococcus A File of Mar 31, 2026 · source file | $53.95 | $83.00 | $14.53–$83.00 | 35% |
| Mount Carmel East Columbus, OH · (614) 234-5000 HC Infectious Agent Antigen Immunoassay Direct Optical Observation Streptococcus A File of Mar 31, 2026 · source file | $53.95 | $83.00 | $14.53–$632.00 | 35% |
| Mount Carmel St Ann's Westerville, OH · (614) 546-4034 HC Infectious Agent Antigen Immunoassay Direct Optical Observation Streptococcus A File of Mar 31, 2026 · source file | $53.95 | $83.00 | $14.53–$632.00 | 35% |
| Diley Ridge Medical Center Canal Winchester, OH · (614) 838-7911 HC Infectious Agent Antigen Immunoassay Direct Optical Observation Streptococcus A File of Mar 31, 2026 · source file | $53.95 | $83.00 | $14.53–$632.00 | 35% |
| Mount Carmel Grove City Grove City, OH HC Infectious Agent Antigen Immunoassay Direct Optical Observation Streptococcus A File of Mar 31, 2026 · source file | $53.95 | $83.00 | $14.53–$632.00 | 35% |
| Mount Carmel New Albany Surgical Hospital New Albany, OH · (614) 775-6600 HC Infectious Agent Antigen Immunoassay Direct Optical Observation Streptococcus A File of Mar 31, 2026 · source file | $53.95 | $83.00 | $14.53–$632.00 | 35% |
| Doctors Hospital Columbus, OH · (614) 544-2136 Hc Rapid Strep Antigen Grp A Throat+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $57.20 | $88.00 | — | 35% |
| Pickerington Methodist Hospital Pickerington, OH · (614) 544-2136 Hc Rapid Strep Antigen Grp A Throat+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $57.20 | $88.00 | — | 35% |
| Dublin Methodist Hospital Dublin, OH · (614) 544-8000 Hc Fsed Rapid Strep Antigen Grp A Throat+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $57.20 | $88.00 | — | 35% |
| Riverside Methodist Hospital Columbus, OH · (614) 566-5000 Hc Fsed Rapid Strep Antigen Grp A Throat+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $57.20 | $88.00 | — | 35% |
| Grant Medical Center Columbus, OH · (614) 566-9164 Hc Rapid Strep Antigen Grp A Throat+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $57.20 | $88.00 | — | 35% |
| Grove City Methodist Grove City, OH · (614) 544-2136 Hc Rapid Strep Antigen Grp A Throat+1 more line at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $57.20 | $88.00 | — | 35% |
| Nationwide Children's Hospital Columbus, OH · (614) 722-2000 STREP A AG DETECTION File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $77.40 | $86.00 | $40.42–$84.28 | 10% |
| Licking Memorial Hospital Newark, OH · (740) 348-4000 HC Strep a Assay W/Optic - Rapid Strep a Screen File of Mar 16, 2026 · source file | $115.55 | $115.55 | $16.20–$115.55 | — |
| Galion Community Hospital Galion, OH · (419) 468-4841 HC CCH STREP A ASSAY W/ OPTIC File of Mar 20, 2026 · source file | $158.10 | $186.00 | $63.24–$171.12 | 15% |
Outpatient: lowest $23.85, median $55.58, highest $158.10 — a 6.6× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 18 facilities here, median $55.58. 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 10 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.