Pap smear (lab reading) cost in Buffalo, NY — inpatient
In Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY, 5 hospitals list a cash price for Pap test lab reading: liquid-based cervical sample, manual screening as an inpatient: from $78.93 to $223.61, with a median of $87.00. The lowest listed price is at Erie County Medical Center — $8.07 less than the median here. Across New York, the median is $70.20 at 53 hospitals.
Cash prices at 5 facilities across 2 cities for code 88142, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Apr 1, 2026 and Aug 25, 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 Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erie County Medical Center lowest Buffalo, NY · (716) 898-3936 CG LIQUID NORMAL | $78.93 | $153.36 | $15.20–$138.02 | 49% | Aug 25, 2026 source file |
| Mount St. Mary's Hospital Lewiston, NY · (716) 297-4800 Cytopath C/V Thin Layer - Lab Cytopath Cerv/Vag Thin Layer | $87.00 | $87.00 | $10.00–$87.00 | — | — source file |
| Sisters of Charity Hospital Buffalo, NY · (716) 862-1000 Cytopath C/V Thin Layer - Lab Cytopath Cerv/Vag Thin Layer | $87.00 | $87.00 | $10.00–$87.00 | — | — source file |
| Mercy Hospital of Buffalo Buffalo, NY · (716) 826-7000 Cytopath C/V Thin Layer - Lab Cytopath Cerv/Vag Thin Layer | $87.00 | $87.00 | $10.00–$87.00 | — | — source file |
| Roswell Park Cancer Institute Buffalo, NY Cytology Thin Layer Preparatio | $223.61 | $223.61 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
Inpatient: lowest $78.93, median $87.00, highest $223.61 — a 2.8× difference within the same market.
As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 6 facilities here, median $87.00 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.
Cash or insurance?
At 1 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
This code covers the lab work on a Pap test collected in liquid, where the sample is prepared as a thin layer and screened for abnormal cervical cells. It is not the exam where the sample is collected.
What the price covers
The price usually covers preparing and screening the sample. The visit and pelvic exam, an HPV test on the same sample (87624) and a pathologist's review of abnormal cells are billed separately.