Pap smear (lab reading) cost in Phoenix, AZ
In Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ, 19 hospitals list a cash price for Pap test lab reading: liquid-based cervical sample, manual screening: from $10.46 to $51.79, with a median of $13.54. The lowest listed price is at Mercy Gilbert Medical Center — $3.08 less than the median here. Across Arizona, the median is $26.87 at 36 hospitals.
- The median here, $13.54, is 81% below the US median of $70.94.
- That is 0.7× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($20.26).
- Every hospital here lists a cash price below its full list price.
Cash prices at 19 facilities across 10 cities for code 88142, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Nov 2, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jan 1, 2026 and Sep 30, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercy Gilbert Medical Center lowest Gilbert, AZ · (480) 728-8000 RL-A-TP REQ MAN 3018968 File of Sep 30, 2026 · source file | $10.46 | $40.52 | $20.26–$40.52 | 74% |
| Banner Casa Grande Medical Center Casa Grande, AZ · (520) 381-6300 LAB SCR MANUAL CYTOPATH CERV/VAG File of Sep 23, 2026 · source file | $10.98 | $61.00 | $20.26–$82.90 | 82% |
| Banner Gateway Medical Center Gilbert, AZ · (480) 543-2000 LAB SCR MANUAL CYTOPATH CERV/VAG File of Sep 22, 2026 · source file | $11.35 | $61.00 | $19.95–$127.05 | 81% |
| Banner Thunderbird Medical Center Glendale, AZ · (602) 865-4470 LAB SCR MANUAL CYTOPATH CERV/VAG File of Sep 22, 2026 · source file | $11.96 | $61.00 | $19.95–$127.05 | 80% |
| Banner Del E Webb Medical Center Sun City West, AZ · (623) 524-4000 LAB SCR MANUAL CYTOPATH CERV/VAG File of Sep 22, 2026 · source file | $12.57 | $61.00 | $19.95–$97.01 | 79% |
| Banner Ocotillo Medical Center Chandler, AZ · (480) 256-7000 LAB SCR MANUAL CYTOPATH CERV/VAG File of Sep 24, 2026 · source file | $12.87 | $61.00 | $19.95–$127.05 | 79% |
| Banner Baywood Medical Center Mesa, AZ · (480) 321-2000 LAB SCR MANUAL CYTOPATH CERV/VAG File of Sep 23, 2026 · source file | $12.99 | $61.00 | $19.95–$127.05 | 79% |
| Banner Goldfield Medical Center Apache Junction, AZ · (480) 733-3300 LAB SCR MANUAL CYTOPATH CERV/VAG File of Sep 23, 2026 · source file | $13.00 | $61.00 | $19.95–$87.75 | 79% |
| Banner Boswell Medical Center Sun City, AZ · (623) 832-4000 LAB SCR MANUAL CYTOPATH CERV/VAG File of Sep 19, 2026 · source file | $13.18 | $61.00 | $19.95–$97.01 | 78% |
| Banner Estrella Medical Center Phoenix, AZ · (623) 327-4000 LAB SCR MANUAL CYTOPATH CERV/VAG File of Sep 25, 2026 · source file | $13.54 | $61.00 | $19.95–$127.05 | 78% |
| Banner University Medical Center Phoenix Phoenix, AZ · (602) 839-2000 LAB SCR MANUAL CYTOPATH CERV/VAG File of Sep 25, 2026 · source file | $15.07 | $61.00 | $20.26–$127.05 | 75% |
| Banner Desert Medical Center Mesa, AZ · (480) 412-3000 LAB SCR MANUAL CYTOPATH CERV/VAG File of Sep 23, 2026 · source file | $17.02 | $61.00 | $19.95–$127.05 | 72% |
| Banner Ironwood Medical Center Queen Creek, AZ · (480) 394-4000 LAB SCR MANUAL CYTOPATH CERV/VAG File of Sep 23, 2026 · source file | $17.08 | $61.00 | $19.95–$127.05 | 72% |
| Valleywise Health Medical Center Phoenix, AZ · (602) 344-5011 HC CYTP CERV/VAG AUTO THIN LAYER PREP MNL SCREEN File of Jun 28, 2026 · source file | $23.30 | $170.00 | $20.26–$40.52 | 86% |
| St Josephs Hospital and Medical Center Phoenix, AZ · (602) 406-8225 RL-A-TR REQUEST 2000138 File of Sep 30, 2026 · source file | $31.57 | $84.00 | $8.51–$66.36 | 62% |
| Dignity Health - Arizona General Hospital Phoenix, AZ · (623) 584-5100 CYTOPATH CER/VAG AUTO MAN SCRN File of Sep 30, 2026 · source file | $42.70 | $229.00 | $20.26–$187.10 | 81% |
| St Josephs Hospital and Medical Center Phoenix, AZ · (602) 406-8225 RL-A-GT REQUEST 2000137 File of Sep 30, 2026 · source file | $43.97 | $117.00 | $8.51–$92.43 | 62% |
| Chandler Regional Medical Center Chandler, AZ · (480) 728-3000 RL-A-TP REQ MAN 3018968 File of Sep 30, 2026 · source file | $44.66 | $161.00 | $11.55–$135.24 | 72% |
| Phoenix Children's Hospital Phoenix, AZ · (602) 933-1000 CYTOPATH C/V THIN LAYER File of Jan 1, 2026 · source file | $45.91 | — | $19.25–$159.39 | — |
| Dignity Health Arizona General Hospital Mesa, AZ · (480) 410-4500 CYTOPATH CER/VAG AUTO MAN SCRN File of Sep 30, 2026 · source file | $51.79 | $229.00 | $20.26–$187.10 | 77% |
| St Josephs Hospital and Medical Center Phoenix, AZ · (602) 406-8225 CYTOPATH CER/VAG AUTO MAN File of Sep 30, 2026 · source file | $71.40 | $190.00 | $8.51–$150.10 | 62% |
Outpatient: lowest $10.46, median $13.54, highest $51.79 — a 5.0× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 17 facilities here, median $13.54. 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 19 of 19 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at 13 it is 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 Pap smear (lab reading) is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Pap smear (lab reading) explained.
1 row held back from this comparison
It is priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 88142 ($60.60). 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.
| Hospital | Cash price | File |
|---|---|---|
| Banner Heart Hospital Mesa, AZLAB SCR MANUAL CYTOPATH CERV/VAG | $3.29 | file |