COVID-19 PCR test Cost in Birmingham, AL (2026)

Prices at 4 hospitals in Birmingham, AL, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $20 — 80% below the US median ($100), roughly 0.4× the Medicare rate.

Lowest cash prices

See negotiated rates for your insurer:

Hospital	Location	Cash	Insurer	CMS rating	ER wait	Readmit
St. Vincent's East	Birmingham, AL	$20	$51	★ 3/5	156 min	14.6%
St Vincent's Birmingham	Birmingham, AL	$20	$51	★ 3/5	245 min	15.3%
The Children's Hospital of Alabama	Birmingham, AL	$456	$334	—	—	—

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)

$212

Cash / self-pay

$20

Insurer-negotiated

$158

Medicare pays

$51

$20$369

Median cash $20 · Medicare $51 · bar = typical cash range (10th–90th percentile)

Is this a fair price?

1× Medicarefair ≈2×5×+

Typical cash price here is $20 — about 0.4× the Medicare rate ($51). Reasonable. A fair cash price is usually within ~2× Medicare ($103).

💡 Asking for the cash price instead of the $212 list price could save about $191 (90%).

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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.

Doctors who perform this in Birmingham

Clinicians who reported the most Medicare volume for this service locally. This reflects Original Medicare activity only and is a volume signal, not a quality ranking.

Clinician	Specialty	Location	Medicare services
Marcia Underwood	Nurse Practitioner	Birmingham, AL	58
Ra'shun Conner, PA-C	Physician Assistant	Birmingham, AL	39
Rachna Gupta	Nurse Practitioner	Birmingham, AL	37
Holly Strauss, CRNP	Nurse Practitioner	Birmingham, AL	26
Eddah Muya, FNP	Nurse Practitioner	Birmingham, AL	20
Emma Mwangi, NP	Nurse Practitioner	Birmingham, AL	20
Evan Smothers, D.O.	Family Practice	Birmingham, AL	17
Jian Fong, MD	Family Practice	Birmingham, AL	11

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All COVID-19 PCR test prices in Alabama → · All COVID-19 PCR test prices (national) · All hospitals in Birmingham