Rapid strep test cost in Nashville, TN
In Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN, 12 hospitals list a cash price for rapid strep A antigen test from a throat swab, read visually: from $21.49 to $1,052.00, with a median of $99.16. The lowest listed price is at Saint Thomas Hospital for Specialty Surgery — $77.67 less than the median here. Across Tennessee, the median is $36.00 at 60 hospitals.
- The median here, $99.16, is 68% above the US median of $59.00.
- That is 6.0× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($16.53).
- Nashville, TN ranks 2nd of 2 metro areas in Tennessee by median, cheapest first.
- 4 of 12 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 12 facilities across 10 cities for code 87880, 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.
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.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Thomas Hospital for Specialty Surgery lowest Nashville, TN STREP A ASSAY W/OPTIC File of Apr 14, 2026 · source file | $21.49 | — | $14.88–$584.01 | — |
| Saint Thomas West Hospital Harding Pk Nashville, TN · (615) 222-2111 POC LAB STREP A+1 more line at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $26.79 | $89.30 | $14.88–$51.92 | 70% |
| Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital Lebanon, TN · (615) 444-2250 HC IMMUNO OPTICAL STREP A File of Oct 1, 2026 · source file | $29.58 | $102.00 | — | 71% |
| Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital Murfreesboro, TN · (615) 396-4100 RAPID STREP+1 more line at this price File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $38.37 | $127.90 | $14.88–$51.92 | 70% |
| Metro Nashville General Hospital Nashville, TN · (615) 341-4000 Rapid Strep A POCT+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $63.00 | $105.00 | — | 40% |
| Sumner Regional Medical Center Gallatin, TN · (615) 328-8888 Infectious agent antigen detection by immunoassay with direct optical (ie, visual) observation; Streptococcus, group A File of Jul 10, 2026 · source file | $89.18 | $382.76 | $34.48 | 77% |
| Riverview Regional Medical Center Carthage, TN · (615) 735-9815 Infectious agent antigen detection by immunoassay with direct optical (ie, visual) observation; Streptococcus, group A File of Jul 10, 2026 · source file | $109.13 | $334.74 | $49.92 | 67% |
| Trousdale Medical Center Hartsville, TN · (615) 374-2221 Infectious agent antigen detection by immunoassay with direct optical (ie, visual) observation; Streptococcus, group A File of Jul 10, 2026 · source file | $169.85 | $335.01 | $33.50 | 49% |
| Tristar Stonecrest Medical Center Smyrna, TN · (615) 768-2000 Infectious agent antigen detection by immunoassay with direct optical (ie, visual) observation; Streptococcus, group A +1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $629.81 | $629.81 | $16.53–$579.43 | — |
| Tristar Hendersonville Medical Center Hendersonville, TN · (615) 338-1000 Infectious agent antigen detection by immunoassay with direct optical (ie, visual) observation; Streptococcus, group A +1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $841.61 | $841.61 | $16.53–$774.28 | — |
| Tristar Centennial Medical Center Nashville, TN · (615) 342-1000 STREP A OPTICAL IA File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $899.32 | $899.32 | $165.56–$899.32 | — |
| Tristar Ashland City Medical Center Ashland City, TN · (615) 792-3030 STREP A OPTICAL IA+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $1,052.00 | $1,052.00 | $16.53–$2,000.00 | — |
Outpatient: lowest $21.49, median $99.16, highest $1,052.00 — a 49.0× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 4 facilities here, median $33.98. 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 4 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.