CMS Price Transparency Data

Drug screening test

Facility: Northern Louisiana Medical Center

Billing Code: G0480 (HCPCS)

The BaseRate · fair price high confidence

A fair price for this

$126

about 1.1× the $114 Medicare rate · typically $90–$173

modeled estimate · not a bill or quote

What this hospital charges insurers

$114

About the fair price

about $12 under the fair price · 1.0× Medicare

Medicare pays $114 Fair price $126 This hospital $114 Cash price $382 Hospital's list price $695

How we calculate the fair BaseRate →

How this hospital compares to other LA hospitals

Highest price of the 9 LA hospitals we have prices for — worth calling around.

Cheapest $80 Priciest $114

Black dot = this hospital, among the 9 LA hospitals with a price for this procedure. Full list below.

⚠ The cash price looks unusually high next to the insurance price — it may be the full list price, not a real cash discount. Call to confirm the self-pay rate.

A fair price for a Drug screening test is about $126 (about 1.1× the $114 Medicare rate). Northern Louisiana Medical Center charges insurers about $114, or about $382 in cash — about the fair price. Located in Ruston, LA.

What each insurance company pays

Which insurers have negotiated a price with this hospital for this procedure — and which haven’t.

6 of 6 major insurers have a published price at this hospital

✓ UnitedHealthcare✓ Blue Cross Blue Shield✓ Aetna✓ Cigna✓ Humana✓ Kaiser Permanente

Crossed out = this hospital hasn’t published a negotiated price for that insurer for this procedure. It doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t accepted — ask your insurer.

Insurance company	Price range	vs. Medicare
UnitedHealthcaremajor	$18 - $915	16%
Blue Cross Blue Shieldmajor	$34 - $230	30%
Aetnamajor	$34 - $549	30%
Cignamajor	$120 - $458	105%
Humanamajor	$38 - $144	33%
Kaiser Permanentemajor	$120 - $458	105%
GEHA	$192 - $869	168%
Health Net	$118 - $448	103%
+ 51 smaller / regional plans	$48 - $915

Government programs also on file: Medicare, Medicaid, Military & VA.

Excludes 8 rental-network / third-party entries (e.g. Multiplan, PHCS) — these are pricing networks, not insurers.

Self-Pay How to get the cash price

Tell the billing desk you want to be billed as self-pay — not through insurance — before your visit.
Ask for the cash / prompt-pay discount in writing, with the exact price (about 382), before you agree to anything.
Get it in writing that they won’t also bill your insurance, so the cash price is what you owe.
Check the HCPCS code on your bill matches exactly: G0480.

Insurance Before you use insurance

Call your insurance company to confirm Northern Louisiana Medical Center is in-network.
Ask your insurer whether prior approval is required for HCPCS code G0480.
Confirm the doctor or provider is in-network too — not just the hospital building.
Check your Explanation of Benefits against the hospital’s final itemized bill.

Estimate your out-of-pocket cost

A rough estimate of what you’d pay with insurance (deductible + coinsurance) versus paying the cash price yourself.

How you’d pay

Deductible left to meet ($)

Your coinsurance (%)

Enter your details and press estimate to compare.

Other Procedures at Northern Louisiana Medical Center

Compare: Drug screening test at other LA hospitals

Insurance negotiated median for the same procedure, sorted lowest first.