Lab tests CPT 88305 Outpatient

Biopsy pathology exam cost in Helena, MT

In Helena, MT, 1 hospital lists a cash price for biopsy tissue exam by a pathologist (level IV): from $103.67 to $103.67, with a median of $103.67. Across Montana, the median is $211.60 at 8 hospitals.

Cash prices at 1 facility for code 88305, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 22, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between — and —.

Lowest$103.67St. Peter's Health
Median$103.67half pay less
Highest$103.67in this market
Difference1.0×highest vs lowest

Where each hospital's price falls

Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in Helena, MT.

median
Lowest $103.67Highest $346.21

Hospitals, cheapest first

HospitalCash price List priceInsurers payOff listFile date
St. Peter's Health lowest Helena, MT · (406) 442-2480 HC SURG PATH LEVEL-IV GROSS & MICRO $103.67 $121.96 $53.43 15% —
source file
St. Peter's Health Helena, MT · (406) 442-2480 LABORATORY PATHOLOGICAL - HISTOLOGY $346.21 $407.30 $91.77 15% —
source file

Outpatient: lowest $103.67, median $103.67, highest $103.67.

As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 1 facility here, median $103.67. 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 the one hospital here that publishes insurer rates for this code, the cash price is not below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated. 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 exam of a tissue sample under a microscope. Most biopsies use it, including skin, colon polyp, stomach, breast core and prostate core biopsies.

What the price covers

The price is usually for one specimen. Each separate specimen is billed again, and the pathologist's reading may be billed separately.