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Procedure price report · Microscopic examination (bacterial smear, culture, toxicology)

HIV-1 genetic test, amplified method

CPT 87535the billing code this page is about

A laboratory test that detects HIV-1 genetic material by copying (amplifying) it many times to make it detectable, including the reverse transcription step when done. Reports whether the virus is present.

Hospitals typically charge $132 cash for this outpatient procedure — the median across 2,508 hospitals that filed a usable cash price; the average of the middle 60% is $146. Most fall between $60 and $292 (20th–80th percentile).

Hospitals
2,508
States
50
Filings dated
Dec 2022 – 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 2,508 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
$39$69$132$252$461

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 12× what the cheapest tenth charges ($39 vs $461).

How the prices are spread

$30 – $41: 173 hospitals$30$41 – $55: 153 hospitals$55 – $75: 238 hospitals$55$75 – $102: 327 hospitals$102 – $138: 284 hospitals$102$138 – $187: 290 hospitals$187 – $253: 302 hospitals$187$253 – $344: 233 hospitals$344 – $466: 145 hospitals$344$466 – $633: 114 hospitals$466median $132price bands are equal on a log scale
Hospitals per price band (2,259 of 2,508 — the bands cover the 5th to 95th percentile)
FromToHospitals
$30$41173
$41$55153
$55$75238
$75$102327
$102$138284
$138$187290
$187$253302
$253$344233
$344$466145
$466$633114

By state

The median cash price in each state, against the national median of $132.

Alaska: median $241 across 16 hospitalsAK$241Maine: median $137 across 26 hospitalsME$137Vermont: 8 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureVTNew Hampshire: median $144 across 20 hospitalsNH$144Washington: median $142 across 56 hospitalsWA$142Idaho: median $162 across 15 hospitalsID$162Montana: median $206 across 15 hospitalsMT$206North Dakota: median $66 across 13 hospitalsND$66Minnesota: median $146 across 69 hospitalsMN$146Illinois: median $180 across 90 hospitalsIL$180Wisconsin: median $149 across 81 hospitalsWI$149Michigan: median $48 across 65 hospitalsMI$48New York: median $96 across 102 hospitalsNY$96Massachusetts: median $142 across 43 hospitalsMA$142Oregon: median $123 across 25 hospitalsOR$123Nevada: median $121 across 14 hospitalsNV$121Wyoming: 9 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureWYSouth Dakota: median $133 across 21 hospitalsSD$133Iowa: median $85 across 43 hospitalsIA$85Indiana: median $105 across 87 hospitalsIN$105Ohio: median $157 across 123 hospitalsOH$157Pennsylvania: median $146 across 112 hospitalsPA$146New Jersey: median $40 across 50 hospitalsNJ$40Connecticut: median $171 across 20 hospitalsCT$171Rhode Island: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureRICalifornia: median $70 across 106 hospitalsCA$70Utah: median $162 across 36 hospitalsUT$162Colorado: median $205 across 48 hospitalsCO$205Nebraska: median $155 across 25 hospitalsNE$155Missouri: median $149 across 57 hospitalsMO$149Kentucky: median $147 across 47 hospitalsKY$147West Virginia: median $57 across 29 hospitalsWV$57Virginia: median $198 across 67 hospitalsVA$198Maryland: median $317 across 38 hospitalsMD$317Delaware: 6 hospitals filed a usable price — fewer than 10, so no figureDEArizona: median $249 across 31 hospitalsAZ$249New Mexico: median $209 across 17 hospitalsNM$209Kansas: median $99 across 39 hospitalsKS$99Arkansas: median $95 across 25 hospitalsAR$95Tennessee: median $89 across 63 hospitalsTN$89North Carolina: median $108 across 84 hospitalsNC$108South Carolina: median $250 across 49 hospitalsSC$250Oklahoma: median $107 across 57 hospitalsOK$107Louisiana: median $94 across 44 hospitalsLA$94Mississippi: median $97 across 45 hospitalsMS$97Alabama: median $119 across 22 hospitalsAL$119Georgia: median $163 across 91 hospitalsGA$163Hawaii: median $213 across 11 hospitalsHI$213Texas: median $161 across 201 hospitalsTX$161Florida: median $109 across 141 hospitalsFL$109
Cash price by state, most expensive first. National median $132. A state needs at least 10 hospitals with a usable price to show a figure.
StateHospitalsMedianvs national20th–80th
Maryland MD38$317+140%$251 – $390
South Carolina SC49$250+89%$138 – $518
Arizona AZ31$249+89%$59 – $421
Alaska AK16$241+83%$121 – $355
Hawaii HI11$213+61%$163 – $1,007
New Mexico NM17$209+58%$91 – $256
Montana MT15$206+56%$96 – $235
Colorado CO48$205+55%$72 – $569
Virginia VA67$198+50%$62 – $351
Illinois IL90$180+36%$62 – $310
Connecticut CT20$171+30%$123 – $188
Georgia GA91$163+23%$80 – $268
Idaho ID15$162+22%$88 – $220
Utah UT36$162+22%$162 – $190
Texas TX201$161+22%$101 – $588
Ohio OH123$157+19%$97 – $284
Nebraska NE25$155+17%$74 – $343
Missouri MO57$149+13%$90 – $225
Wisconsin WI81$149+13%$110 – $301
Kentucky KY47$147+11%$88 – $442
Minnesota MN69$146+11%$69 – $427
Pennsylvania PA112$146+10%$40 – $412
New Hampshire NH20$144+9%$97 – $308
Massachusetts MA43$142+8%$91 – $313
Washington WA56$142+7%$65 – $327
Maine ME26$137+4%$38 – $242
South Dakota SD21$133+1%$93 – $296
Oregon OR25$123−7%$70 – $278
Nevada NV14$121−9%$88 – $602
Alabama AL22$119−10%$47 – $240
Florida FL141$109−17%$48 – $294
North Carolina NC84$108−18%$63 – $172
Oklahoma OK57$107−19%$42 – $211
Indiana IN87$105−20%$50 – $312
Kansas KS39$99−25%$37 – $357
Mississippi MS45$97−26%$31 – $166
New York NY102$96−27%$36 – $237
Arkansas AR25$95−28%$52 – $124
Louisiana LA44$94−29%$43 – $220
Tennessee TN63$89−32%$39 – $195
Iowa IA43$85−36%$67 – $266
California CA106$70−47%$54 – $148
North Dakota ND13$66−50%$59 – $174
West Virginia WV29$57−57%$57 – $117
Michigan MI65$48−63%$40 – $75
New Jersey NJ50$40−69%$35 – $99
Wyoming WY9not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Vermont VT8not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Delaware DE6not enough hospitals filed a usable price
Rhode Island RI6not 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 $132.

Cash price by hospital segment. A segment needs at least 20 hospitals to show a figure.
SegmentHospitalsMedian20th–80th
Hospital type
Acute care1,940$127$55 – $291
Children’s50$116$55 – $443
Critical access508$149$74 – $295
Ownership
For-profit365$185$80 – $537
Government367$112$62 – $257
Non-profit1,766$130$57 – $278
System affiliation
Part of a system2,111$128$57 – $292
Independent397$143$71 – $292

Cash price vs list price

Median list price (chargemaster)$224
Median cash price$132
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

1,753 hospitals filed a usable inpatient cash price for this code. The median is $130 and the average of the middle 60% is $141; most fall between $62 and $282.

Cash price percentiles, inpatient, across 1,753 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
$41$70$130$246$412

The most expensive tenth of hospitals charges at least 10.0× what the cheapest tenth charges ($41 vs $412).

Of the 1,946 hospitals that filed this code inpatient, 1,753 gave a usable cash price; 103 carried a plausibility flag, 0 filed a number their own filing marks as not a price, 0 gave an estimate, and 90 a list price only.

How complete is this

2,508 of the 3,956 hospitals with a price file in our corpus (63%) filed a usable outpatient cash price for this code, and those are the hospitals every figure on this page is computed from.

What the 2,750 hospitals that filed this code at all gave us
Usable cash price — counted2,508
Cash price carrying a plausibility flag — shown on the compare tool, excluded here137
A number the filing itself marks as not a price (a placeholder, a ratio) — excluded0
An estimate rather than a filed cash price — excluded1
A list price only, no cash figure — excluded104
Hospitals that filed this code2,750

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 July 20, 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 Microscopic examination (bacterial smear, culture, toxicology) family.

Hospitals file this code under descriptions such as HC Hiv Nat.

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, “HIV-1 genetic test, amplified method (CPT 87535) — cash price report,” computed September 25, 2026. https://hospitalrates.com/procedures/cpt-87535-hiv-1-genetic-test-amplified-method