Lab tests CPT 88142 Inpatient — admitted to hospital

Pap smear (lab reading) cost in New Orleans, LA — inpatient

In New Orleans-Metairie, LA, 4 hospitals list a cash price for Pap test lab reading: liquid-based cervical sample, manual screening as an inpatient: from $12.96 to $36.40, with a median of $31.34. The lowest listed price is at St Charles Parish Hospital — $18.38 less than the median here. Across Louisiana, the median is $27.82 at 33 hospitals.

Cash prices at 4 facilities across 4 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 Sep 16, 2026.

Lowest$12.96St Charles Parish Hospital

Median$31.34half of hospitals charge less

Highest$36.40in this market

Difference2.8×highest vs lowest

Where each hospital's price falls

Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in New Orleans-Metairie, LA.

median

Lowest $12.96Highest $36.40

Hospitals, cheapest first

Hospital	Cash price	List price	Insurers pay	Off list
St Charles Parish Hospital lowest Luling, LA · (985) 785-3644 HC PAP SMEAR, THIN PREP SCREENING File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file	$12.96	$48.00	—	73%
Ochsner Clinic Foundation New Orleans, LA · (504) 842-3000 HC PAP SMEAR, THIN PREP SCREENING File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file	$26.84	$122.00	—	78%
Ochsner Clinic Foundation New Orleans, LA · (504) 842-3000 HC PAP SMEAR, THIN PREP DIAGNOSTIC File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file	$28.60	$130.00	—	78%
St Bernard Parish Hospital Chalmette, LA · (504) 826-9500 HC PAP SMEAR, THIN PREP SCREENING File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file	$35.84	$112.00	—	68%
Ochsner Medical Center – Kenner Kenner, LA · (504) 464-8065 HC PAP SMEAR, THIN PREP SCREENING File of Sep 16, 2026 · source file	$36.40	$130.00	—	72%

Hospital The hospital that published the price, its city and the line exactly as written in its price file.

Cash price The hospital's own price for a patient paying without insurance (“discounted cash” in its price file). Hospitals must publish it under federal law, 45 CFR 180.50. Call to confirm it before booking. More

List price The hospital's full chargemaster price (“gross charge”) before any discount. Almost nobody pays it; the gap to the cash price shows what the self-pay discount is worth. More

Insurers pay The lowest and highest rates this hospital has agreed with insurance plans for the same item, from its price file. If the cash price is below what your plan pays and you have not met your deductible, paying cash can cost you less. More

Off list How much lower the cash price is than the list price.

Inpatient: lowest $12.96, median $31.34, highest $36.40 — a 2.8× difference within the same market.

As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 12 facilities here, median $21.47 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.

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.