COVID-19 PCR test cost in Houston, TX

Prices at 9 hospitals in Houston, TX, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $64 — 36% below the US median ($100), roughly 1.2× the Medicare rate.

Lowest cash prices

HospitalLocationCashInsurerCMS ratingER waitReadmit
HCA Houston Healthcare Northwest Houston, TX $58 $51 ★ 2/5 147 min
HCA Houston Healthcare West Houston, TX $58 $51 ★ 1/5 104 min
Healthbridge Childrens's Hospital of Houston Houston, TX $58 $51
Texas Orthopedic Hospital Houston, TX $60 $51 105 min
HCA Houston Healthcare Medical Center Houston, TX $64 $51 ★ 4/5 75 min
Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center Houston, TX $148 ★ 4/5 252 min
Memorial Hermann Hospital System Houston, TX $148 ★ 3/5 243 min
Tops Surgical Specialty Hospital Houston, TX $165 $56
St Joseph Medical Center Houston, TX $253 $63 ★ 3/5 180 min

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 September 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)
$64
Cash / self-pay
$64
Insurer-negotiated
$51
Medicare pays
$51
$58$182
Median cash $64  ·  Medicare $51  ·  bar = typical cash range (10th–90th percentile)
Is this a fair price?
1× Medicarefair ≈2×5×+

Typical cash price here is $64 — about 1.2× the Medicare rate ($51). Reasonable. A fair cash price is usually within ~2× Medicare ($103).

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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 Houston

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.

ClinicianSpecialtyLocationMedicare services
Raina Patel, MDInternal MedicineHouston, TX124
Brian Tremaine, M.D.Internal MedicineHouston, TX113
Jennifer Fitzgerald, NP-CNurse PractitionerHouston, TX35
Latoya Weathersby, FNPNurse PractitionerHouston, TX34
Cynthia Kieu, N.P.Nurse PractitionerHouston, TX25
Joshua Sugay, PAPhysician AssistantHouston, TX23
Mindy Choate, FNPNurse PractitionerHouston, TX23
Tomas Rios, M.D.Internal MedicineHouston, TX21

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All COVID-19 PCR test prices in Texas → · All COVID-19 PCR test prices (national) · All hospitals in Houston