Spinal tap (lumbar puncture) cost in New Jersey

Prices at 24 hospitals in New Jersey, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $919 — 11% above the US median ($830), roughly 5.6× the Medicare rate.

Lowest cash prices

HospitalLocationCashInsurerCMS ratingER waitReadmit
St Luke's Warren Hospital Phillipsburg, NJ $611 $709 ★ 5/5 140 min —
Valley Hospital Paramus, NJ $670 $1,551 ★ 4/5 227 min —
Saint Clare's Hospital/ Denville Campus Denville, NJ $818 $1,224 ★ 2/5 166 min —
Saint Michael's Medical Center Newark, NJ $818 $1,146 ★ 4/5 169 min —
St Mary's General Hospital Passaic, NJ $834 $1,281 ★ 3/5 182 min —
Newton Medical Center Newton, NJ $840 $804 ★ 4/5 168 min —
Hackensack Meridian Mountainside Medical Montclair, NJ $894 $8,467 ★ 4/5 229 min —
The University Hospital Newark, NJ $908 $1,582 ★ 1/5 307 min —
Shore Medical Center Somers Point, NJ $913 $794 ★ 3/5 148 min —
Jefferson Stratford Hospital Stratford, NJ $913 $4,400 ★ 2/5 215 min —
Overlook Medical Center Summit, NJ $924 $812 ★ 5/5 192 min —
Centrastate Medical Center Freehold, NJ $924 $1,054 ★ 4/5 219 min —
Chilton Medical Center Pompton Plains, NJ $966 $804 ★ 5/5 207 min —
Inspira Medical Center Vineland Vineland, NJ $1,501 $834 ★ 3/5 201 min —
Inspira Medical Center Mullica Hill Elmer, NJ $1,501 $834 ★ 3/5 187 min —
Morristown Medical Center Morristown, NJ $1,521 $804 ★ 5/5 250 min —
Saint Peter's University Hospital New Brunswick, NJ $2,044 $1,054 ★ 3/5 208 min —
Carewell Health Medical Center East Orange, NJ $2,067 $777 ★ 1/5 176 min —
Cooper University Hospital Camden, NJ $2,604 $2,518 ★ 2/5 205 min —
St Joseph's University Medical Center Inc Paterson, NJ $2,671 $1,258 ★ 3/5 217 min —
Capital Health Medical Center-Hopewell Pennington, NJ $3,434 $985 ★ 2/5 209 min —
Capital Health Regional Medical Center Trenton, NJ $3,434 $985 ★ 2/5 180 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 October 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)
$2,518
Cash / self-pay
$919
Insurer-negotiated
$1,020
Medicare pays
$165
$629$2,651
Median cash $919  ·  Medicare $165  ·  bar = typical cash range (10th–90th percentile)
Is this a fair price?
1× Medicarefair ≈2×5×+

Typical cash price here is $919 — about 5.6× the Medicare rate ($165). High vs Medicare. A fair cash price is usually within ~2× Medicare ($330).

💡 Asking for the cash price instead of the $2,518 list price could save about $1,599 (64%).

Estimate what you’ll pay
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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.

Spinal tap (lumbar puncture) cost in other states

All Spinal tap (lumbar puncture) prices (national) → · All hospitals in New Jersey →