Pap smear (lab reading) cost in Phoenix, AZ
In Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ, 13 hospitals list a cash price for Pap test lab reading: liquid-based cervical sample, manual screening: from $21.06 to $32.76, with a median of $24.92. The lowest listed price is at Banner Casa Grande Medical Center — $3.86 less than the median here. Across Arizona, the median is $24.94 at 21 hospitals.
Cash prices at 13 facilities across 10 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 Mar 2, 2026 and Jun 28, 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 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banner Casa Grande Medical Center lowest Casa Grande, AZ · (520) 381-6300 LAB SCR MANUAL CYTOPATH CERV/VAG | $21.06 | $117.00 | $20.26–$87.75 | 82% | Mar 2, 2026 source file |
| Banner Gateway Medical Center Gilbert, AZ · (480) 543-2000 LAB SCR MANUAL CYTOPATH CERV/VAG | $21.76 | $117.00 | $20.26–$125.17 | 81% | May 1, 2026 source file |
| Banner Thunderbird Medical Center Glendale, AZ · (602) 865-4470 LAB SCR MANUAL CYTOPATH CERV/VAG | $22.93 | $117.00 | $20.26–$125.17 | 80% | Mar 2, 2026 source file |
| Valleywise Health Medical Center Phoenix, AZ · (602) 344-5011 HC CYTP CERV/VAG AUTO THIN LAYER PREP MNL SCREEN | $23.30 | $170.00 | $20.26–$40.52 | 86% | Jun 28, 2026 source file |
| Banner Del E Webb Medical Center Sun City West, AZ · (623) 524-4000 LAB SCR MANUAL CYTOPATH CERV/VAG | $24.10 | $117.00 | $20.26–$95.58 | 79% | Mar 2, 2026 source file |
| Banner Ocotillo Medical Center Chandler, AZ · (480) 256-7000 LAB SCR MANUAL CYTOPATH CERV/VAG | $24.69 | $117.00 | $20.26–$125.17 | 79% | Mar 2, 2026 source file |
| Banner Baywood Medical Center Mesa, AZ · (480) 321-2000 LAB SCR MANUAL CYTOPATH CERV/VAG | $24.92 | $117.00 | $20.26–$125.17 | 79% | Mar 2, 2026 source file |
| Banner Goldfield Medical Center Apache Junction, AZ · (480) 733-3300 LAB SCR MANUAL CYTOPATH CERV/VAG | $24.94 | $117.00 | $20.26–$87.75 | 79% | Mar 2, 2026 source file |
| Banner Boswell Medical Center Sun City, AZ · (623) 832-4000 LAB SCR MANUAL CYTOPATH CERV/VAG | $25.27 | $117.00 | $20.26–$95.58 | 78% | Mar 2, 2026 source file |
| Banner Estrella Medical Center Phoenix, AZ · (623) 327-4000 LAB SCR MANUAL CYTOPATH CERV/VAG | $25.97 | $117.00 | $20.26–$125.17 | 78% | Mar 2, 2026 source file |
| Banner University Medical Center Phoenix Phoenix, AZ · (602) 839-2000 LAB SCR MANUAL CYTOPATH CERV/VAG | $28.90 | $117.00 | $20.26–$125.17 | 75% | Mar 2, 2026 source file |
| Banner Desert Medical Center Mesa, AZ · (480) 412-3000 LAB SCR MANUAL CYTOPATH CERV/VAG | $32.64 | $117.00 | $20.26–$125.17 | 72% | Mar 2, 2026 source file |
| Banner Ironwood Medical Center San Tan Valley, AZ · (480) 394-4000 LAB SCR MANUAL CYTOPATH CERV/VAG | $32.76 | $117.00 | $20.26–$125.17 | 72% | Mar 2, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $21.06, median $24.92, highest $32.76 — a 1.6× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 14 facilities here, median $25.11. 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 13 of 13 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.
1 row held back from this comparison
It is priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 88142 ($75.65). Such a line is almost always a physician's fee billed separately, an assistant's share or a placeholder — a real charge, but not the price of the procedure itself.
| Banner Heart Hospital Mesa, AZLAB SCR MANUAL CYTOPATH CERV/VAG | $6.32 | file |