AST liver enzyme test cost in Houston, TX

Prices at 6 hospitals in Houston, TX, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $146 — 283% above the US median ($38), roughly 28.1× the Medicare rate.

Lowest cash prices

HospitalLocationCashInsurerCMS ratingER waitReadmit
St Luke's Hospital at the Vintage Houston, TX $35 $10 ★ 4/5 214 min 15.0%
Texas Orthopedic Hospital Houston, TX $109 $21 106 min 14.1%
Tops Surgical Specialty Hospital Houston, TX $137 $7 14.4%
Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center Houston, TX $154 ★ 4/5 252 min 14.6%
Memorial Hermann Hospital System Houston, TX $154 ★ 3/5 229 min 14.8%
St Joseph Medical Center Houston, TX $365 $6 ★ 3/5 189 min 15.2%

CMS rating = overall hospital star rating (1–5); ER wait = median minutes in the emergency department; Readmit = 30-day readmission rate (lower is better) — all from Medicare’s Care Compare; “—” = not reported. Data last updated August 2026. Prices from hospitals’ machine-readable files (45 CFR §180); Medicare benchmark from CMS PFS/CLFS/IPPS. Prices below 15% of the median are excluded as likely partial or mis-coded charges. Estimates — confirm with the hospital. Report an incorrect price.

Price comparison (median)

Chargemaster (list price)
$378
Cash / self-pay
$146
Insurer-negotiated
$8
Medicare pays
$5
$72$260
Median cash $146  ·  Medicare $5  ·  bar = typical cash range (10th–90th percentile)
Is this a fair price?
1× Medicarefair ≈2×5×+

Typical cash price here is $146 — about 28.1× the Medicare rate ($5). High vs Medicare. A fair cash price is usually within ~2× Medicare ($10).

💡 Asking for the cash price instead of the $378 list price could save about $232 (61%).

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Rough estimate from this procedure’s median insurer-negotiated rate. Your actual cost depends on your plan — confirm with your insurer.

All AST liver enzyme test prices in Texas → · All AST liver enzyme test prices (national) · All hospitals in Houston