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Procedure price report · Pathology

MLH1 gene test for missing or duplicated pieces

CPT 81294the billing code this page is about

A laboratory test that checks whether whole sections of the MLH1 gene are deleted or present in extra copies, changes that sequencing alone can miss.

Hospitals typically charge $352 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 669 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $366. Most fall between $186 and $685 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
669
States
47
Filings dated
Jan 2024 – Sep 2026
Computed
September 25, 2026
Prices checked
through September 24, 2026

Median: half of hospitals filed less, half more — and it is a price some hospital actually filed. Average of the middle 60%: the mean of the prices between the 20th and 80th percentiles. We never publish the plain average, the lowest or the highest price: the extremes in hospital price files are chargemaster artefacts, not prices anyone pays.

What hospitals charge, from cheapest to most expensive

Cash price percentiles, outpatient, across 669 hospitals. Each figure is a price a hospital filed. 10th: one in ten hospitals charges less; 25th: a quarter charge less; Median: half charge less; 75th: three quarters charge less; 90th: nine in ten charge less.
10th25thMedian75th90th
$130$202$352$592$953

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 7.3× what the cheapest tenth charges ($130 vs $953).

How the prices are spread

$73 – $99: 20 hospitals$73$99 – $134: 19 hospitals$134 – $182: 57 hospitals$134$182 – $246: 100 hospitals$246 – $333: 86 hospitals$246$333 – $452: 104 hospitals$452 – $612: 100 hospitals$452$612 – $829: 64 hospitals$829 – $1,124: 34 hospitals$829$1,124 – $1,523: 19 hospitals$1,124median $352price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (603 of 669 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$73$9920
$99$13419
$134$18257
$182$246100
$246$33386
$333$452104
$452$612100
$612$82964
$829$1,12434
$1,124$1,52319

By state

The median cash price in each state, against the national median of $352.

Alaska: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceMEVermont: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceVTNew Hampshire: 2 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: median $363 across 29 hospitalsWA$363Idaho: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureIDMontana: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMTNorth Dakota: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNDMinnesota: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMNIllinois: median $468 across 36 hospitalsIL$468Wisconsin: median $593 across 16 hospitalsWI$593Michigan: median $250 across 12 hospitalsMI$250New York: median $203 across 30 hospitalsNY$203Massachusetts: median $574 across 21 hospitalsMA$574Oregon: median $177 across 15 hospitalsOR$177Nevada: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: no hospital in the corpus filed a usable priceSDIowa: median $194 across 15 hospitalsIA$194Indiana: median $335 across 36 hospitalsIN$335Ohio: median $345 across 27 hospitalsOH$345Pennsylvania: median $899 across 34 hospitalsPA$899New Jersey: median $223 across 37 hospitalsNJ$223Connecticut: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCTRhode Island: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $459 across 32 hospitalsCA$459Utah: median $349 across 23 hospitalsUT$349Colorado: median $263 across 16 hospitalsCO$263Nebraska: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNEMissouri: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMOKentucky: median $192 across 19 hospitalsKY$192West Virginia: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWVVirginia: median $695 across 16 hospitalsVA$695Maryland: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAZNew Mexico: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNMKansas: median $303 across 11 hospitalsKS$303Arkansas: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureARTennessee: median $150 across 19 hospitalsTN$150North Carolina: median $281 across 12 hospitalsNC$281South Carolina: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSCOklahoma: median $434 across 12 hospitalsOK$434Louisiana: median $145 across 13 hospitalsLA$145Mississippi: 7 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMSAlabama: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureALGeorgia: median $726 across 28 hospitalsGA$726Hawaii: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureHITexas: median $401 across 43 hospitalsTX$401Florida: median $142 across 22 hospitalsFL$142
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $352. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
Pennsylvania PA34$899+155%$79 – $2,005
Georgia GA28$726+106%$302 – $726
Virginia VA16$695+97%$150 – $953
Wisconsin WI16$593+68%$521 – $650
Massachusetts MA21$574+63%$421 – $712
Illinois IL36$468+33%$353 – $592
California CA32$459+30%$111 – $459
Oklahoma OK12$434+23%$206 – $490
Texas TX43$401+14%$186 – $570
Washington WA29$363+3%$138 – $630
Utah UT23$349−1%$349 – $411
Ohio OH27$345−2%$247 – $735
Indiana IN36$335−5%$258 – $512
Kansas KS11$303−14%$212 – $685
North Carolina NC12$281−20%$281 – $304
Colorado CO16$263−25%$240 – $364
Michigan MI12$250−29%$46 – $279
New Jersey NJ37$223−37%$202 – $1,423
New York NY30$203−43%$202 – $355
Iowa IA15$194−45%$194 – $227
Kentucky KY19$192−45%$147 – $900
Oregon OR15$177−50%$162 – $528
Tennessee TN19$150−57%$150 – $261
Louisiana LA13$145−59%$71 – $201
Florida FL22$142−60%$46 – $708
North Dakota ND9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Carolina SC9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Missouri MO8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arkansas AR7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Mississippi MS7not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Arizona AZ6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Connecticut CT4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Minnesota MN4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Mexico NM4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
West Virginia WV4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Hawaii HI3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Idaho ID3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nebraska NE3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH2not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alabama AL1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT1not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI1not enough hospitals filed a usable price

Hospitals like yours

The same distribution cut by the kind of hospital. Hospital type and ownership come from CMS; a hospital counts as part of a system when its price file is shared with at least one other hospital under the same brand. The national median is $352.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care552$349$186 – $695
Children’s15fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access99$394$240 – $605
Ownership
For-profit57$418$251 – $745
Government86$294$175 – $533
Non-profit523$355$186 – $688
System affiliation
Part of a system575$364$186 – $699
Independent94$294$201 – $521

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$619
Median cash price$352
Cash as a share of list, median hospital60%

At the typical hospital, asking for the cash price cuts the list price by about 40%. The share is the median of each hospital’s own cash ÷ list ratio, over hospitals that filed both — not the ratio of the two medians above.

The same procedure, inpatient

461 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $375 and the average of the middle 60% is $388; most fall between $186 and $701.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 461 hospitals. Each figure is a price a hospital filed. 10th: one in ten hospitals charges less; 25th: a quarter charge less; Median: half charge less; 75th: three quarters charge less; 90th: nine in ten charge less.
10th25thMedian75th90th
$140$202$375$628$932

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 6.7× what the cheapest tenth charges ($140 vs $932).

Of the 532 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 461 gave a usable cash price; 47 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 24 a list price only.

How complete is this

669 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (17%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 750 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted669
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here56
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded1
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded0
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded24
Hospitals that filed this code750

Sections not shown for this setting

  • Against Medicare: Medicare has no separately payable national outpatient (OPPS) rate for this code, so there is nothing honest to compare against.
  • Since our last snapshot: there is no earlier snapshot at least 90 days older than this one yet.

We last checked these hospitals’ price files for changes between September 4, 2026 and September 24, 2026; the figures were computed September 25, 2026 from filings loaded through September 24, 2026. The percentiles and averages use only the “counted” row.

Related procedures

Part of the Pathology family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as MLH1 GENE DUP/DELETE VARIANT.

Method

Source
The machine-readable price files every U.S. hospital is required by CMS to publish, parsed per hospital. Nothing is surveyed, sampled or modelled.
What counts
One cash (self-pay) price per hospital for this code and setting. A hospital’s own filing can rule its number out — a placeholder, a “not applicable” note, a list price standing in for cash — and our plausibility checks can flag a price far below what every other hospital files. Both kinds are disclosed above and excluded from the statistics; on the compare tool a flagged price is still shown.
Statistics
Percentiles are discrete: each is a price some hospital filed. The average is the mean of the prices between the 20th and 80th percentiles. We never publish the plain mean, the minimum or the maximum. A state needs 10 hospitals and a segment 20 to show a figure; otherwise the row shows its count and no number. Medicare is the national unadjusted OPPS rate where one exists.
Names
Procedure names on these pages are our own plain-language titles, not the AMA’s copyrighted CPT descriptors. The code is the identity.

The full rules — sources, statistics, thresholds, limitations — are on the methodology page.

Download this page’s figures: JSON · CSV. Aggregates only — the per-hospital prices are on the compare tool.

Cite: HospitalRates.com, “MLH1 gene test for missing or duplicated pieces (CPT 81294) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-81294-mlh1-gene-test-for-missing-or-duplicated-pieces