Pap smear (lab reading) cost in Boston, MA
In Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, 19 hospitals list a cash price for Pap test lab reading: liquid-based cervical sample, manual screening: from $33.82 to $250.00, with a median of $101.00. The lowest listed price is at Boston Medical Center South — $67.18 less than the median here. Across Massachusetts, the median is $91.93 at 30 hospitals.
- The median here, $101.00, is 42% above the US median of $70.94.
- That is 5.0× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($20.26).
- 11 of 19 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 19 facilities across 13 cities for code 88142, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Oct 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Dec 15, 2025 and Sep 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Medical Center South lowest Brockton, MA · (508) 427-3000 HC Chg Cytp Cerv/Vag Auto Thin Layer Prep Mnl Screen File of Mar 13, 2026 · source file | $33.82 | $75.16 | $17.87–$394.86 | 55% |
| Boston Medical Center Brighton Boston, MA · (617) 789-3000 HC Chg Cytp Cerv/Vag Auto Thin Layer Prep Mnl Screen File of Mar 13, 2026 · source file | $37.93 | $84.29 | $17.87–$475.07 | 55% |
| Lowell General Hospital Lowell, MA · (978) 937-6000 HC Cytopath C/V Thin Layer - Lab Cytopath Cerv/Vag File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $49.70 | $71.00 | $24.85–$83.21 | 30% |
| Tufts Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 636-5000 HC Cytopath C/V Thin Layer - Lab Cytopath Cerv/Vag File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $49.70 | $71.00 | $18.64–$87.92 | 30% |
| Melrosewakefield Healthcare Melrose, MA · (781) 979-3000 HC Cytopath C/V Thin Layer - Lab Cytopath Cerv/Vag File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $49.70 | $71.00 | $24.85–$530.75 | 30% |
| Southcoast Hospitals Group - Tobey Hospital Campus Wareham, MA · (508) 679-3131 HC Cytopath Cerv/Vag Thin Layer File of Dec 15, 2025 · source file | $58.50 | $117.00 | $20.26–$411.86 | 50% |
| Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital Brockton, MA · (508) 941-7000 CYTOPATH; C/V THIN LAYER File of Jan 28, 2026 · source file | $58.80 | $84.00 | $19.85–$64.97 | 30% |
| Cambridge Health Alliance Cambridge, MA · (617) 665-1000 HC Cytopathology Preservation Fld+1 more line at this price File of Mar 20, 2026 · source file | $86.00 | $86.00 | $17.87–$139.73 | — |
| Boston Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 638-8000 HC Chg Cytp Cerv/Vag Auto Thin Layer Prep Mnl Screen File of Mar 13, 2026 · source file | $91.80 | $204.00 | $17.52–$512.54 | 55% |
| Cambridge Health Alliance Cambridge, MA · (617) 665-1000 Cytp Cerv/Vag Auto Thin Layer Prep Mnl Screen File of Mar 20, 2026 · source file | $100.00 | $100.00 | $17.87–$139.73 | — |
| Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital - Needham Needham, MA · (781) 453-3002 CHG CYTP CERV/VAG AUTO THIN LAYER PREP MNL SCREEN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $101.00 | $101.00 | — | — |
| Mount Auburn Hospital Cambridge, MA · (617) 492-3500 CHG CYTP CERV/VAG AUTO THIN LAYER PREP MNL SCREEN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $139.00 | $139.00 | — | — |
| Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital - Plymouth Plymouth, MA · (508) 746-2000 CHG CYTP CERV/VAG AUTO THIN LAYER PREP MNL SCREEN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $142.00 | $142.00 | — | — |
| Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 667-7000 CHG CYTP CERV/VAG AUTO THIN LAYER PREP MNL SCREEN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $151.00 | $151.00 | — | — |
| Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Milton Milton, MA · (617) 696-4600 CHG CYTP CERV/VAG AUTO THIN LAYER PREP MNL SCREEN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $152.00 | $152.00 | — | — |
| Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington Burlington, MA · (781) 744-5100 CHG CYTP CERV/VAG AUTO THIN LAYER PREP MNL SCREEN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $173.00 | $173.00 | — | — |
| Winchester Hospital Winchester, MA · (781) 729-9000 CHG CYTP CERV/VAG AUTO THIN LAYER PREP MNL SCREEN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $179.00 | $179.00 | — | — |
| Parkland Medical Center Derry, NH · (603) 421-2100 PAPDX TCSC NORSC TH+1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $241.00 | $241.00 | $33.33–$228.95 | — |
| Plaistow Fser Plaistow, NH · (603) 421-2100 Cytopathology, cervical or vaginal (any reporting system), collected in preservative fluid, automated thin layer preparation; manual screening under physician supervision +1 more line at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $241.00 | $241.00 | $33.33–$228.95 | — |
| New England Baptist Hospital Boston, MA · (617) 754-5800 CHG CYTP CERV/VAG AUTO THIN LAYER PREP MNL SCREEN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $250.00 | $250.00 | — | — |
| Cambridge Health Alliance Cambridge, MA · (617) 665-1000 HC Cytopathology Preservation Fld File of Mar 20, 2026 · source file | $830.00 | $830.00 | $18.48–$139.73 | — |
Outpatient: lowest $33.82, median $101.00, highest $250.00 — a 7.4× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 16 facilities here, median $96.40. 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 11 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 Pap smear (lab reading) is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Pap smear (lab reading) explained.