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Procedure price report · Pathology

Bacterial vaginosis test on vaginal fluid, RNA markers

CPT 81513the billing code this page is about

Laboratory test on a vaginal fluid sample that measures bacterial RNA markers and reports a single positive or negative result for bacterial vaginosis.

Hospitals typically charge $214 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 1,266 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $222. Most fall between $101 and $401 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
1,266
States
50
Filings dated
Feb 2024 – Sep 2026
Computed
September 25, 2026
Prices checked
through September 25, 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 1,266 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
$73$126$214$352$546

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 7.5× what the cheapest tenth charges ($73 vs $546).

How the prices are spread

$63 – $80: 119 hospitals$63$80 – $102: 77 hospitals$102 – $130: 67 hospitals$102$130 – $165: 163 hospitals$165 – $210: 125 hospitals$165$210 – $267: 215 hospitals$267 – $340: 99 hospitals$267$340 – $432: 116 hospitals$432 – $550: 97 hospitals$432$550 – $700: 63 hospitals$550median $214price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (1,141 of 1,266 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$63$80119
$80$10277
$102$13067
$130$165163
$165$210125
$210$267215
$267$34099
$340$432116
$432$55097
$550$70063

By state

The median cash price in each state, against the national median of $214.

Alaska: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureAKMaine: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMEVermont: median $66 across 12 hospitalsVT$66New Hampshire: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNHWashington: median $228 across 27 hospitalsWA$228Idaho: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureIDMontana: 4 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMTNorth Dakota: median $248 across 11 hospitalsND$248Minnesota: median $158 across 44 hospitalsMN$158Illinois: median $244 across 51 hospitalsIL$244Wisconsin: median $515 across 61 hospitalsWI$515Michigan: median $197 across 24 hospitalsMI$197New York: median $297 across 72 hospitalsNY$297Massachusetts: median $385 across 39 hospitalsMA$385Oregon: median $171 across 21 hospitalsOR$171Nevada: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNVWyoming: 1 hospital filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureSDIowa: median $154 across 22 hospitalsIA$154Indiana: median $247 across 28 hospitalsIN$247Ohio: median $321 across 77 hospitalsOH$321Pennsylvania: median $310 across 87 hospitalsPA$310New Jersey: median $157 across 38 hospitalsNJ$157Connecticut: median $250 across 18 hospitalsCT$250Rhode Island: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $250 across 80 hospitalsCA$250Utah: 3 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureUTColorado: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureCONebraska: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureNEMissouri: median $250 across 33 hospitalsMO$250Kentucky: median $229 across 26 hospitalsKY$229West Virginia: median $76 across 21 hospitalsWV$76Virginia: median $179 across 35 hospitalsVA$179Maryland: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureMDDelaware: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: median $153 across 11 hospitalsAZ$153New Mexico: median $186 across 15 hospitalsNM$186Kansas: median $254 across 20 hospitalsKS$254Arkansas: median $233 across 15 hospitalsAR$233Tennessee: median $179 across 30 hospitalsTN$179North Carolina: median $138 across 22 hospitalsNC$138South Carolina: median $165 across 10 hospitalsSC$165Oklahoma: median $226 across 28 hospitalsOK$226Louisiana: median $216 across 16 hospitalsLA$216Mississippi: median $116 across 23 hospitalsMS$116Alabama: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureALGeorgia: median $143 across 43 hospitalsGA$143Hawaii: median $443 across 14 hospitalsHI$443Texas: median $95 across 63 hospitalsTX$95Florida: median $195 across 44 hospitalsFL$195
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $214. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
Wisconsin WI61$515+140%$200 – $698
Hawaii HI14$443+107%$377 – $683
Massachusetts MA39$385+80%$250 – $485
Ohio OH77$321+50%$216 – $596
Pennsylvania PA87$310+45%$143 – $538
New York NY72$297+39%$108 – $365
Kansas KS20$254+18%$143 – $982
California CA80$250+17%$73 – $411
Connecticut CT18$250+17%$250 – $445
Missouri MO33$250+17%$166 – $311
North Dakota ND11$248+16%$223 – $270
Indiana IN28$247+16%$183 – $289
Illinois IL51$244+14%$177 – $361
Arkansas AR15$233+9%$92 – $242
Kentucky KY26$229+7%$96 – $668
Washington WA27$228+7%$102 – $315
Oklahoma OK28$226+5%$71 – $306
Louisiana LA16$216+1%$68 – $309
Michigan MI24$197−8%$39 – $487
Florida FL44$195−9%$88 – $449
New Mexico NM15$186−13%$158 – $225
Tennessee TN30$179−16%$117 – $183
Virginia VA35$179−16%$138 – $270
Oregon OR21$171−20%$149 – $483
South Carolina SC10$165−23%$134 – $222
Minnesota MN44$158−26%$97 – $243
New Jersey NJ38$157−27%$143 – $366
Iowa IA22$154−28%$154 – $171
Arizona AZ11$153−29%$131 – $858
Georgia GA43$143−33%$80 – $272
North Carolina NC22$138−36%$69 – $321
Mississippi MS23$116−46%$65 – $198
Texas TX63$95−56%$64 – $219
West Virginia WV21$76−65%$76 – $122
Vermont VT12$66−69%$26 – $200
Colorado CO9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
New Hampshire NH9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alabama AL8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maryland MD8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Maine ME6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nebraska NE6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Nevada NV6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Alaska AK4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Idaho ID4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Montana MT4not enough hospitals filed a usable price
South Dakota SD3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Utah UT3not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Wyoming WY1not 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 $214.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care988$214$97 – $401
Children’s19fewer than 20 hospitals
Critical access256$225$127 – $400
Ownership
For-profit93$214$110 – $411
Government144$158$99 – $360
Non-profit1,026$219$101 – $401
System affiliation
Part of a system1,121$214$99 – $401
Independent145$214$121 – $360

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$393
Median cash price$214
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

925 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $219 and the average of the middle 60% is $234; most fall between $101 and $449.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 925 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
$73$131$219$401$571

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 7.8× what the cheapest tenth charges ($73 vs $571).

Of the 999 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 925 gave a usable cash price; 48 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 26 a list price only.

How complete is this

1,266 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (32%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 1,372 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted1,266
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here67
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded1
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded1
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded37
Hospitals that filed this code1,372

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 25, 2026; the figures were computed September 25, 2026 from filings loaded through September 25, 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 HC Bacterial Vaginosis, Ribosomal Rna, Qualitative Swab.

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, “Bacterial vaginosis test on vaginal fluid, RNA markers (CPT 81513) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-81513-bacterial-vaginosis-test-on-vaginal-fluid-rna-markers