Pap smear (lab reading) cost in Seattle, WA
In Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA, 10 hospitals list a cash price for Pap test lab reading: liquid-based cervical sample, manual screening: from $24.00 to $137.28, with a median of $108.00. The lowest listed price is at Swedish Edmonds — $84.00 less than the median here. Across Washington, the median is $83.20 at 31 hospitals.
- The median here, $108.00, is 52% above the US median of $70.94.
- That is 5.3× 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 10 facilities across 7 cities for code 88142, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Nov 12, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Mar 12, 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swedish Edmonds lowest Edmonds, WA · (425) 640-4000 HC CYTP CERV/VAG AUTO THIN LAYER PREP MNL SCREEN LAB File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $24.00 | $50.00 | — | 52% |
| Snoqualmie Valley Hospital Snoqualmie, WA · (425) 831-2300 Facility Fee HC PAP MANUAL TO LABCORP File of Apr 14, 2026 · source file | $54.94 | $94.72 | $19.85–$87.14 | 42% |
| Valley Medical Center Renton, WA · (425) 228-3450 Cytp Cerv/Vag Auto Thin Layer Prep Mnl Screen File of Mar 12, 2026 · source file | $60.90 | $87.00 | — | 30% |
| Snoqualmie Valley Hospital Snoqualmie, WA · (425) 831-2300 Facility Fee HC CYTOPATH CERV/VAG THIN LAYER File of Apr 14, 2026 · source file | $62.91 | $108.46 | $19.85–$99.78 | 42% |
| Virginia Mason Medical Center Seattle, WA · (206) 223-6600 HC Cytopath Cervical/Vaginal Auto Thin Layer Prep Manual+1 more line at this price File of Sep 30, 2026 · source file | $68.36 | $132.00 | $18.23–$85.87 | 48% |
| Cascade Valley Hospital Arlington, WA · (360) 435-2133 HC CYTOPATHOLOG PAPSMEAR THINPREP File of Mar 26, 2026 · source file | $105.60 | $132.00 | $11.22–$118.80 | 20% |
| Kaiser Permanente Central Hospital Seattle, WA · (206) 326-3000 CYTOPATHOLOGY SMEARS THIN LAYER File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $110.40 | $138.00 | $24.00–$85.00 | 20% |
| Swedish Medical Center / Cherry Hill Seattle, WA · (206) 320-2000 HC PAP-THIN PREP SCREENING File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $126.72 | $264.00 | — | 52% |
| Swedish Edmonds Edmonds, WA · (425) 640-4000 HC PAP-THIN PREP SCREENING File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $126.72 | $264.00 | — | 52% |
| Swedish Issaquah Issaquah, WA · (425) 313-4000 HC PAP-THIN PREP SCREENING File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $126.72 | $264.00 | — | 52% |
| Swedish Medical Center Seattle, WA · (206) 386-6000 HC PAP-THIN PREP SCREENING File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $126.72 | $264.00 | — | 52% |
| Providence Regional Medical Center Everett Everett, WA · (425) 261-2000 HC PAP-THIN PREP SCREENING+2 more lines at this price File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $137.28 | $264.00 | — | 48% |
Outpatient: lowest $24.00, median $108.00, highest $137.28 — a 5.7× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 11 facilities here, median $110.40. 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 3 of 4 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.