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Gene Activity Test to Identify a Cancer's Origin

South Carolina rates for HCPCS 81540

A laboratory test on a sample of tumor tissue that measures the activity of a large panel of genes and compares the pattern against the patterns of known cancer types. It is used when a cancer has already spread and doctors cannot tell which organ it began in, because treatment depends on the tissue of origin.

Rates data updated July 2026.

How much does Gene Activity Test to Identify a Cancer's Origin cost?

$3,020

Typical negotiated rate. In South Carolina, July 2026.

Insurers have agreed to pay about $3,020 for this service. The price depends on where it is billed: about $2,951 from a physician practice, and about $7,079 from a hospital or other facility. The two figures are alternatives, not parts of one bill.

These are rates insurers have negotiated with providers, not the amount a patient is billed. What you owe depends on your plan's deductible and coinsurance. Based on rates published by 5 insurance carriers under federal price transparency rules.

Where it's billed changes the price

Billed byTypicalRange
Physician practiceA doctor's office, clinic or independent provider$2,951$2,951 to $3,090
FacilityA hospital or hospital-owned outpatient department$7,079$2,951 to $12,023

How much rates vary

Facilitymedian $7,079 · 10th to 90th $2,630 to $17,783Professionalmedian $2,951 · 10th to 90th $2,239 to $3,981
$2K$5K$10K$20Kfacility $7,079professional $2,951

Distribution of negotiated rates across all payers (price axis is log-scale). Each curve is scaled to its own total: facility and professional rates are different services, shown together to compare where they cluster. Need provider-level prices or 24+ months of history? Contact us.

Rates by insurance carrier

Insurance Carrier
Aetna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2,630.27
Median
$9,332.54
Typical High
$17,782.79
Aetna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2,951.21
Median
$2,951.21
Typical High
$3,388.44
BCBS
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$22,908.68
Median
$22,908.68
Typical High
$24,547.09
BCBS
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$3,715.35
Median
$3,981.07
Typical High
$5,623.41
Cigna
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$7,079.46
Median
$11,220.18
Typical High
$21,379.62
Cigna
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,659.59
Median
$1,905.46
Typical High
$4,570.88
Medcost
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$2,630.27
Median
$3,388.44
Typical High
$5,011.87
United
Setting
Facility
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$3,388.44
Median
$3,715.35
Typical High
$4,466.84
United
Setting
Professional
Modifier
Global
Typical Low
$1,445.44
Median
$1,862.09
Typical High
$3,715.35

Where South Carolina sits

The same service costs 4.0 times more in Alaska than in Rhode Island. Every bar is a state, most expensive first. Touch or drag across it to read any state, then open that state for its carriers and full range.

South Carolina· 38th of 51

$3,020

AK $8,511RI $2,138

Median negotiated rate in each state, from every insurer that publishes one. States where no insurer publishes a rate for this service are not shown.