Lab tests CPT 87880 Inpatient — admitted to hospital

Rapid strep test cost in Myrtle Beach, SC — inpatient

In Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC, 4 hospitals list a cash price for rapid strep A antigen test from a throat swab, read visually as an inpatient: from $25.00 to $69.58, with a median of $69.58. The lowest listed price is at Conway Medical Center — $44.58 less than the median here. Across South Carolina, the median is $102.00 at 31 hospitals.

Cash prices at 4 facilities across 4 cities for code 87880, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 27, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between — and —.

Lowest$25.00Conway Medical Center
Median$69.58half pay less
Highest$69.58in this market
Difference2.8×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 Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC.

median
Lowest $25.00Highest $69.58

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash price List priceInsurers payOff listFile date
Conway Medical Center lowest Conway, SC · (843) 347-8037 Strep A + $25.00 $25.00 $5.00–$18.00 — —
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Conway Medical Center Conway, SC · (843) 347-8037 ED Rapid Strep POC BCE $35.00 $35.00 $7.00–$25.20 — —
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McLeod Health Myrtle Beach, SC HC STREP A ASSAY W/OPTIC - RAPID STREP A SCREEN $69.58 $98.00 $16.53–$98.77 29% —
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McLeod Health Loris, SC · (843) 716-7000 HC STREP A ASSAY W/OPTIC - RAPID STREP A SCREEN $69.58 $98.00 $16.53–$98.77 29% —
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McLeod Health E Little River, SC HC STREP A ASSAY W/OPTIC - RAPID STREP A SCREEN $69.58 $98.00 $16.53–$98.77 29% —
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Inpatient: lowest $25.00, median $69.58, highest $69.58 — a 2.8× difference within the same market.

As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 5 facilities here, median $69.58 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.

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

A rapid strep test checks a throat swab for group A strep bacteria, the cause of strep throat, and gives a result in minutes. It helps the clinician decide whether antibiotics are needed.

What the price covers

The price usually covers the rapid test only. The visit is billed separately, and a backup throat culture, if done, has its own charge.