Pap smear (lab reading) cost in San Francisco, CA
In San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA, 21 hospitals list a cash price for Pap test lab reading: liquid-based cervical sample, manual screening: from $91.00 to $168.00, with a median of $105.28. The lowest listed price is at Novato Community Hospital — $14.28 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $91.00 at 122 hospitals.
- The median here, $105.28, is 48% above the US median of $70.94.
- That is 5.2× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($20.26).
- San Francisco, CA ranks 4th of 4 metro areas in California by median, cheapest first.
- 11 of 21 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 21 facilities across 15 cities for code 88142, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Oct 31, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Apr 1, 2026 and Apr 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 Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Novato Community Hospital lowest Novato, CA · (415) 209-1300 HCHG CORE CYTOPATHOLGY CERVICAL/VAGINAL THIN LAYER PREP File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $91.00 | $91.00 | — | — |
| Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Oakland, CA · (510) 655-4000 HCHG REF CYTOPATHOLGY CERVICAL/VAGINAL THIN LAYER PREP File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $94.71 | $94.71 | — | — |
| Alta Bates Summit Medical Center - Alta Bates Camp Berkeley, CA · (510) 204-4444 HCHG REF CYTOPATHOLGY CERVICAL/VAGINAL THIN LAYER PREP File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $94.71 | $94.71 | — | — |
| Alta Bates Summit Medical Center - Herrick Campus Berkeley, CA · (510) 204-4444 HCHG REF CYTOPATHOLGY CERVICAL/VAGINAL THIN LAYER PREP File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $94.71 | $94.71 | — | — |
| Alta Bates Summit Medical Center-Summit Campus-Hawthorne Oakland, CA · (510) 655-4000 HCHG REF CYTOPATHOLGY CERVICAL/VAGINAL THIN LAYER PREP File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $94.71 | $94.71 | — | — |
| California Pacific Medical Ctr-Davies Campus Hospital San Francisco, CA · (415) 600-6000 HCHG PAP DIAGNOSTIC THIN LAYER PREP File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $95.00 | $95.00 | — | — |
| California Pacific Medical Center- Van Ness Campus San Francisco, CA · (415) 600-6000 HCHG PAP DIAGNOSTIC THIN LAYER PREP File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $95.00 | $95.00 | — | — |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Francisco San Francisco, CA · (415) 833-2646 CYTP CERV/VAG AUTO THIN LAYER PREP MNL SCREEN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $105.28 | $188.00 | $21.00–$65.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Fnd Hospital - Richmond Campus Richmond, CA · (510) 752-1000 CYTP CERV/VAG AUTO THIN LAYER PREP MNL SCREEN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $105.28 | $188.00 | $21.00–$65.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - South San Francisco South San Francisco, CA · (650) 742-3200 CYTP CERV/VAG AUTO THIN LAYER PREP MNL SCREEN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $105.28 | $188.00 | $21.00–$65.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Redwood City Redwood City, CA · (650) 299-2000 CYTP CERV/VAG AUTO THIN LAYER PREP MNL SCREEN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $105.28 | $188.00 | $21.00–$65.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Rafael San Rafael, CA · (415) 444-2000 CYTP CERV/VAG AUTO THIN LAYER PREP MNL SCREEN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $105.28 | $188.00 | $21.00–$65.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Antioch Antioch, CA · (925) 813-6500 CYTP CERV/VAG AUTO THIN LAYER PREP MNL SCREEN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $105.28 | $188.00 | $21.00–$65.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Leandro San Leandro, CA · (510) 454-1000 CYTP CERV/VAG AUTO THIN LAYER PREP MNL SCREEN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $105.28 | $188.00 | $21.00–$65.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Oakland/Richmond Oakland, CA · (510) 752-1000 CYTP CERV/VAG AUTO THIN LAYER PREP MNL SCREEN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $105.28 | $188.00 | $21.00–$65.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Walnut Creek Walnut Creek, CA · (925) 295-4000 CYTP CERV/VAG AUTO THIN LAYER PREP MNL SCREEN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $105.28 | $188.00 | $21.00–$65.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Fremont Fremont, CA · (510) 784-4000 CYTP CERV/VAG AUTO THIN LAYER PREP MNL SCREEN File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $105.28 | $188.00 | $21.00–$65.00 | 44% |
| Mills Health Center San Mateo, CA · (650) 696-5400 HCHG PAP DIAGNOSTIC THIN LAYER PREP File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $112.00 | $112.00 | — | — |
| Mills-Peninsula Medical Center Burlingame, CA · (650) 696-5400 HCHG PAP DIAGNOSTIC THIN LAYER PREP File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $112.00 | $112.00 | — | — |
| Sutter Delta Medical Center Antioch, CA · (925) 779-7200 HCHG REF CYTOPATHOLGY CERVICAL/VAGINAL THIN LAYER PREP File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $168.00 | $168.00 | — | — |
| Eden Medical Center Castro Valley, CA · (510) 537-1234 HCHG REF CYTOPATHOLGY CERVICAL/VAGINAL THIN LAYER PREP File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $168.00 | $168.00 | — | — |
Outpatient: lowest $91.00, median $105.28, highest $168.00 — a 1.8× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 21 facilities here, median $105.28. 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 0 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.