Pap smear (lab reading) cost in San Diego, CA
In San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA, 12 hospitals list a cash price for Pap test lab reading: liquid-based cervical sample, manual screening: from $20.00 to $124.85, with a median of $25.64. The lowest listed price is at Paradise Valley Hospital — $5.64 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $91.00 at 122 hospitals.
- The median here, $25.64, is 64% below the US median of $70.94.
- That is 1.3× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($20.26).
- San Diego, CA has the lowest median of 4 metro areas in California with at least 10 hospitals pricing this code.
- Every hospital here lists a cash price below its full list price.
Cash prices at 12 facilities across 7 cities for code 88142, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Mar 30, 2026 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 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paradise Valley Hospital lowest National City, CA · (619) 470-4321 PAP,REVIEW LC192197+6 more lines at this price File of Sep 1, 2026 · source file | $20.00 | $23.05 | $5.16–$119.00 | 13% |
| Palomar Medical Center Poway Poway, CA · (858) 485-6511 SurePath PAP Test+2 more lines at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $20.36 | $33.94 | — | 40% |
| Palomar Medical Center Escondido Escondido, CA SurePath PAP and HPV+2 more lines at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $20.36 | $33.94 | — | 40% |
| Palomar Medical Center Poway Poway, CA · (858) 485-6511 Cytology, ThinPrep Pap Test and Hum+2 more lines at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $21.56 | $35.94 | — | 40% |
| Palomar Medical Center Escondido Escondido, CA Cytology, ThinPrep Pap Test and Hum+2 more lines at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $21.56 | $35.94 | — | 40% |
| Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista San Diego, CA · (619) 294-8111 HC Cyto Patp,Cer/Vag,Thin Layer,Manual File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $25.64 | $102.57 | $8.21–$82.06 | 75% |
| Scripps Green Hospital La Jolla, CA · (858) 554-3600 HC Cyto Patp,Cer/Vag,Thin Layer,Manual File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $25.64 | $102.57 | $8.21–$82.06 | 75% |
| Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas Encinitas, CA · (760) 753-6501 HC Cyto Patp,Cer/Vag,Thin Layer,Manual File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $25.64 | $102.57 | $8.21–$82.06 | 75% |
| Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego San Diego, CA · (619) 294-8111 HC Cyto Patp,Cer/Vag,Thin Layer,Manual File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $25.64 | $102.57 | $8.21–$82.06 | 75% |
| Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla La Jolla, CA · (858) 626-4123 HC Cyto Patp,Cer/Vag,Thin Layer,Manual File of Mar 30, 2026 · source file | $25.64 | $102.57 | $8.21–$82.06 | 75% |
| Palomar Medical Center Poway Poway, CA · (858) 485-6511 Pathology Billing Gyn Cytology Sure File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $52.97 | $88.28 | — | 40% |
| Palomar Medical Center Escondido Escondido, CA Pathology Billing Gyn Cytology Sure File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $52.97 | $88.28 | — | 40% |
| Palomar Medical Center Escondido Escondido, CA Pathology Billing 88142 PAP Reproce File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $59.15 | $98.59 | — | 40% |
| Palomar Medical Center Poway Poway, CA · (858) 485-6511 Pathology Billing 88142 PAP Reproce File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $59.15 | $98.59 | — | 40% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Diego - Clairemont Mesa San Diego, CA · (619) 528-5000 CYTP CERV/VAG AUTO THIN LAYER PREP MNL SCREEN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $91.00 | $175.00 | $17.00–$50.00 | 48% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Diego - Zion San Diego, CA · (619) 528-5000 CYTP CERV/VAG AUTO THIN LAYER PREP MNL SCREEN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $91.00 | $175.00 | $17.00–$50.00 | 48% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Marcos San Marcos, CA · (760) 528-6295 CYTP CERV/VAG AUTO THIN LAYER PREP MNL SCREEN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $91.00 | $175.00 | $17.00–$50.00 | 48% |
| UC San Diego Medical Center San Diego, CA · (619) 543-6222 Pap Test (Pap Smear) File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $124.85 | $227.00 | $18.00–$306.45 | 45% |
Outpatient: lowest $20.00, median $25.64, highest $124.85 — a 6.2× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 11 facilities here, median $25.64. 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 7 of 10 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 Pap smear (lab reading) is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Pap smear (lab reading) explained.