Pap smear (lab reading) cost in Nashville, TN
In Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN, 4 hospitals list a cash price for Pap test lab reading: liquid-based cervical sample, manual screening: from $39.51 to $77.76, with a median of $40.64. The lowest listed price is at Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital and 1 other hospital — $1.13 less than the median here. Across Tennessee, the median is $35.40 at 33 hospitals.
Cash prices at 4 facilities across 4 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 Oct 1, 2025 and Oct 1, 2025.
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 | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital lowest Murfreesboro, TN · (615) 396-4100 CYTOLOGY SM FLUID BASE THIN PR | $39.51 | $131.70 | $18.23–$77.88 | 70% | — source file |
| Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital lowest Murfreesboro, TN · (615) 396-4100 CYTOLOGY SM FLUID BASE THIN PR | $39.51 | $131.70 | $18.23–$77.88 | 70% | — source file |
| Saint Thomas West Hospital lowest Harding Pk Nashville, TN · (615) 222-2111 CYTOLOGY SM FLUID BASE THIN PR | $39.51 | $131.70 | $18.23–$77.88 | 70% | — source file |
| Saint Thomas West Hospital lowest Harding Pk Nashville, TN · (615) 222-2111 CYTOLOGY SM FLUID BASE THIN PR | $39.51 | $131.70 | $18.23–$77.88 | 70% | — source file |
| Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital Lebanon, TN · (615) 444-2250 HC GYNECOLOGIC CYTOLOGY TP | $41.76 | $144.00 | $19.20–$115.20 | 71% | Oct 1, 2025 source file |
| Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital Lebanon, TN · (615) 444-2250 HC CYTOPATH PAP TLP MAN | $49.88 | $172.00 | $19.20–$137.60 | 71% | Oct 1, 2025 source file |
| Vanderbilt University Medical Center Nashville, TN · (615) 322-3454 HC GYNECOLOGIC CYTOLOGY TP | $77.76 | $144.00 | $19.20–$115.20 | 46% | Oct 1, 2025 source file |
| Vanderbilt University Medical Center Nashville, TN · (615) 322-3454 HC CYTOPATH PAP TLP MAN | $92.88 | $172.00 | $19.20–$137.60 | 46% | Oct 1, 2025 source file |
| Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital Murfreesboro, TN · (615) 396-4100 REFERENCE THIN PREP PAP | $121.64 | $405.45 | $18.23–$77.88 | 70% | — source file |
| Saint Thomas West Hospital Harding Pk Nashville, TN · (615) 222-2111 REFERENCE THIN PREP PAP | $121.64 | $405.45 | $18.23–$77.88 | 70% | — source file |
| Saint Thomas West Hospital Harding Pk Nashville, TN · (615) 222-2111 REFERENCE THIN PREP PAP | $121.64 | $405.45 | $18.23–$77.88 | 70% | — source file |
| Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital Murfreesboro, TN · (615) 396-4100 REFERENCE THIN PREP PAP | $121.64 | $405.45 | $18.23–$77.88 | 70% | — source file |
Outpatient: lowest $39.51, median $40.64, highest $77.76 — a 2.0× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 4 facilities here, median $40.64. 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 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.