Biopsy pathology exam cost in St. Louis, MO — inpatient
In St. Louis, MO-IL, 7 hospitals list a cash price for biopsy tissue exam by a pathologist (level IV) as an inpatient: from $169.75 to $410.40, with a median of $306.72. The lowest listed price is at Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital South — $136.97 less than the median here. Across Missouri, the median is $187.56 at 24 hospitals.
Cash prices at 7 facilities across 7 cities for code 88305, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Mar 16, 2026 and Mar 16, 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 St. Louis, MO-IL.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital South lowest Louis, MO SURGICAL PATH LEVEL IV | $169.75 | $169.75 | $169.75 | — | Mar 16, 2026 source file |
| Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital South lowest Louis, MO CELL BLOCK, INTERP COMPLETE | $169.75 | $169.75 | $169.75 | — | Mar 16, 2026 source file |
| Gateway Regional Medical Center Granite City, IL · (618) 798-3000 SURG PATH GROSS LVL4 | $238.96 | $398.27 | $398.27 | 40% | — source file |
| Hshs Holy Family Hospital Greenville, IL · (618) 664-1230 HC GROSS & MICRO LEVEL IV | $281.52 | $391.00 | $29.34–$391.00 | 28% | — source file |
| St Josephs Hospital of the Hospital Sisters of the Third Order of St Francis Highland, IL · (618) 651-2600 TISSUE EXAM BY PATHOLOGIST | $306.72 | $426.00 | $35.73–$426.00 | 28% | — source file |
| St Elizabeths Hospital of the Hospital Sisters of the Third Order of St Francis O'Fallon, IL HC GROSS & MICRO LEVEL IV | $351.36 | $488.00 | $27.95–$488.00 | 28% | — source file |
| Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital St. Louis Chesterfield, MO SURGICAL PATH LEVEL IV | $387.28 | $387.28 | $387.28 | — | Mar 16, 2026 source file |
| St Josephs Hospital Hospital Sisters Third Order of St Francis Breese, IL · (618) 526-4511 TISSUE EXAM BY PATHOLOGIST | $410.40 | $570.00 | $27.95–$570.00 | 28% | — source file |
| Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital St. Louis Chesterfield, MO CELL BLOCK, INTERP COMPLETE | $967.70 | $967.70 | $967.70 | — | Mar 16, 2026 source file |
Inpatient: lowest $169.75, median $306.72, highest $410.40 — a 2.4× difference within the same market.
As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 10 facilities here, median $259.56 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.
Cash or insurance?
At 5 of 7 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at 1 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 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.