Pap smear (lab reading) cost in Charlotte, NC
In Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC, 16 hospitals list a cash price for Pap test lab reading: liquid-based cervical sample, manual screening: from $23.76 to $172.50, with a median of $131.33. The lowest listed price is at Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital — $107.57 less than the median here. Across North Carolina, the median is $64.25 at 34 hospitals.
Cash prices at 16 facilities across 13 cities for code 88142, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Dec 1, 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 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital lowest Mooresville, NC · (704) 660-4000 HC CYTO GYN THIN PREP MANUAL DX | $23.76 | $88.00 | $7.73–$60.00 | 73% | — source file |
| Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital lowest Mooresville, NC · (704) 660-4000 Cyto Gyn Thin Prep Manual Dx | $23.76 | $88.00 | $30.36–$42.26 | 73% | — source file |
| Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital lowest Mooresville, NC · (704) 660-4000 Cyto Gyn Thin Prep Manual Dx | $23.76 | $88.00 | $30.36–$42.26 | 73% | — source file |
| MUSC Chester Regional Medical Center Chester, SC · (803) 581-3151 HB CYTOPATH C/V THIN LAYER MANUAL SCREEN | $42.50 | $85.00 | — | 50% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| MUSC Lancaster Medical Center Lancaster, SC · (803) 286-1481 HB CYTOPATH C/V THIN LAYER MANUAL SCREEN | $64.50 | $129.00 | — | 50% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Carolinas Medical Center Charlotte, NC · (704) 355-2000 HC CYTOPATH CERV VAG THIN LAYER | $131.33 | $262.65 | $20.67–$236.39 | 50% | Dec 5, 2025 source file |
| Carolinas Rehabilitation Charlotte, NC HC CYTOPATH CERV VAG THIN LAYER | $131.33 | $262.65 | $20.67–$241.64 | 50% | Dec 5, 2025 source file |
| Atrium Health Union Monroe, NC · (704) 283-3100 HC CYTOPATH CERV VAG THIN LAYER | $131.33 | $262.65 | $20.67–$249.52 | 50% | Dec 4, 2025 source file |
| Atrium Health Pineville Charlotte, NC · (704) 379-5000 HC CYTOPATH CERV VAG THIN LAYER | $131.33 | $262.65 | $20.67–$241.64 | 50% | Dec 5, 2025 source file |
| Atrium Health Pineville Charlotte, NC · (704) 379-5000 HC CYTOPATH CERV VAG THIN LAYER | $131.33 | $262.65 | $20.67–$254.77 | 50% | Dec 5, 2025 source file |
| Carolinas Medical Center-Northeast Concord, NC · (704) 783-3000 HC CYTOPATH CERV VAG THIN LAYER | $131.33 | $262.65 | $20.67–$249.52 | 50% | Dec 1, 2025 source file |
| Carolinas Medical Center Charlotte, NC · (704) 355-2000 HC CYTOPATH CERV VAG THIN LAYER | $131.33 | $262.65 | $20.67–$236.39 | 50% | Dec 4, 2025 source file |
| Carolinas Medical Center Charlotte, NC · (704) 355-2000 HC CYTOPATH CERV VAG THIN LAYER | $131.33 | $262.65 | $20.67–$241.64 | 50% | Dec 4, 2025 source file |
| Carolinas Medical Center Charlotte, NC · (704) 355-2000 HC CYTOPATH CERV VAG THIN LAYER | $131.33 | $262.65 | $49.90–$262.65 | 50% | Dec 4, 2025 source file |
| Carolinas Rehabilitation Belmont, NC HC CYTOPATH CERV VAG THIN LAYER | $131.33 | $262.65 | $20.67–$241.64 | 50% | Dec 5, 2025 source file |
| Atrium Health Anson Wadesboro, NC · (704) 694-5131 HC CYTOPATH CERV VAG THIN LAYER | $131.33 | $262.65 | $20.67–$249.52 | 50% | Dec 1, 2025 source file |
| Atrium Health Lincoln Lincolnton, NC · (980) 212-2000 HC CYTOPATH CERV VAG THIN LAYER | $131.33 | $262.65 | $20.67–$249.52 | 50% | Dec 1, 2025 source file |
| Gaston Memorial Hospital Gastonia, NC · (704) 834-4891 CHG CYTO: PAP THIN LAYER | $159.00 | $159.00 | $12.16–$151.05 | — | May 11, 2026 source file |
| Gaston Memorial Hospital Belmont, NC CHG CYTO: PAP THIN LAYER | $159.00 | $159.00 | $12.16–$151.05 | — | May 11, 2026 source file |
| Gaston Memorial Hospital Mount Holly, NC CHG CYTO: PAP THIN LAYER | $159.00 | $159.00 | $12.16–$151.05 | — | May 11, 2026 source file |
| Piedmont Medical Center Fort Mill, SC CYTO PRESERV FLD AUTO TL | $172.50 | $230.00 | $1.00–$230.00 | 25% | Apr 15, 2026 source file |
| Piedmont Medical Center Rock Hill, SC CYTO PRESERV FLD AUTO TL | $172.50 | $230.00 | $1.00–$230.00 | 25% | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
| Piedmont Medical Center Fort Mill, SC CYTO C/V PREP SCREEN | $219.00 | $292.00 | $1.00–$292.00 | 25% | Apr 15, 2026 source file |
| Piedmont Medical Center Rock Hill, SC CYTO C/V PREP SCREEN | $219.00 | $292.00 | $1.00–$292.00 | 25% | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $23.76, median $131.33, highest $172.50 — a 7.3× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 16 facilities here, median $131.33. 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 11 of 14 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.